Health Crisis Looming At Ghana Health Service

Health sectors or health personnel are known for cleanliness. In a situation where there is filth or dirt, the health condition of a patient escalates same as the condition of an environment.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is a Ghanaian government body established in 1996 as part of the Health Sector Reform of Ghana. The Health Service is under the Ministry of Health. The Health service primarily administrates the health services provided by the government and in implementing government policies on healthcare.

But cleanliness which happens to be the notion of health workers or health personnel have been defiled.

Just in front of the Ghana Health service at Tema station has its gutters chocked for a year now. And what seems to be the concern of what the health sector seeks to achieve isn’t working there.

How can the Ghana Health service propose that they are fighting cholera when they are breeding that in front of their entrance? How well is the Ghana Health service fighting Malaria when they are just “rearing” mosquitoes at their surroundings.

Not only does this chocked gutter breed mosquitoes and has the likelihood of a cholera outbreak, it also has a foul smell. It doesn’t matter how heavy or thick one’s nose marks is, the foul smell coming from the chocked gutter can be smelled.

The question Vesta Daily News is asking now is, who is responsible? Who is not doing his or her work well? How can the Ghana Health Service preach cleanliness when they themselves are not practicing it.
Meanwhile, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has it’s Reginal Office not far from the Ghana Health Service. They apparently find themselves on the same stretch.

Below is a stated function of the Ghana Health Service:

1. Provide comprehensive health services at all levels in Ghana directly and by contracting out to other Ghana agencies.

2. Develop appropriate strategies and set technical guidelines to achieve Ghana national policy goals/objectives.

3. Undertake management and administration of the overall Ghana health resources within the service.

4. Promote healthy mode of living and good health habits by people in Ghana.

5. Establish effective mechanism for disease surveillance, prevention and control in Ghana.

6. Determine charges for Ghana health services with the approval of the Ghana Minister of Health.

7. Provide in-service training and continuing education in Ghana.

8. Perform any other functions relevant to the promotion, protection and restoration of health in Ghana.

Among the eight (8) listed functions of the Ghana Health Service, it is not practicing point 4, 5 and 8 to its maximum.

This should be a wake-up call to the Ghana Health Service.