CHPS Officers need further training – Dr Aryeetey

Dr Ellen Bortie-Doku Aryeetey, Head of Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) has suggested further training for Community Health and Planning Services (CHPS) to support their midwifery skills.

There are to be logistics and a congenial atmosphere to motivate staff to perform better, she said at the launch of a research report conducted by SEND-Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation in Accra on Thursday.

The report, titled; “Healthcare at the Doorstep of Citizens: Unleashing the Potential of CHPS” was conducted in some selected districts in the three northern regions and the Greater Accra Region to access the effectiveness of CHPS in meeting the health needs of rural dwellers.

In all, 30 districts and sub metropolitans were randomly selected from the four regions.

Dr Bortie-Doku Aryeetey, therefore, commended the SEND-Ghana for its efforts in conducting the research which turned out to be very helpful to the beneficiary communities.

“I want to suggest that next time round you should include other regions with peculiar poverty level and also take on board a little bit of secondary materials to ascertain whether the CHPS concept addresses maternal mortality, child health or health delivery in general,” she said.

Mr George Osei-Bempeh, Country Director of SEND-Ghana, said the report was the fourth of the organisation’s work for the year 2013.

He, therefore, commended their partners, as well as the media for their contributions saying “we are grateful for your continuous support and partnership and we look forward for fruitful collaboration in the years ahead.”

Mr Isaac Adams, Director of Research at the Ministry of Health, commended SEND-Ghana for its efforts adding “the Ministry views the studies as a clear demonstration of the private sector involvement in public policies”.

He said it was time the private sector interrogated public policies and come out with their independent findings and useful recommendations as their quota towards socio-economic development of the country.

He explained that the current challenges of CHPS had its roots from a number of areas which needed a collaborative effort to manage.

He stressed the need for active involvement of district assemblies to assist in managing the perceptions of citizens.

Mr Adams also recommended frequent reviewing of the CHPS programme by the Ghana Health Services to give room for improvement.

Madam Janet Mohamed, Board Chairperson of SEND-Ghana, said the Ministry ought to map out strategies to address the gaps in CHPS delivery in the country.

She said the report did not cover partners in the healthcare delivery sector and suggested that next time they should be interviewed on the role they were playing in the sector.