CHPS compounds to go digital for e-health services

Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and other primary health facilities across the nation are to be digitized to facilitate the deployment of e-health services to enhance the quality of care.

Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said under the initiative, consultants and specialists through mobile health and tele-medicine would teach, guide, train health professionals, and manage patients at CHPS compounds, health centres and other lower facilities.

He said a steering committee chaired by the Health Minister and a technical working group with representatives from the communications ministry and its agencies had been put in place to speed up the process.

He was speaking at the opening of the Methodist Health Professionals conference in Kumasi.

The two-day meeting was held under the theme “Ensuring the quality of life of individuals and their families: what can health professionals do?”

Dr. Nsiah Asare said CHPS was no longer a concept but a basic health delivery service, which could help accelerate the attainment of quality health outcomes as provided in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He hinted that under the Millennium Accelerated Framework (MAF) and the Maternal Children Health and Nutrition Project (MCHNP), significant investments would be made in equipment, capacity building of hospitals and clinics with emphasis on lower health delivery points to improve maternal and child health services and nutrition.

Dr. Nsiah Asare applauded the contribution of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and other faith-based organizations’ to the provision of quality health care to the people, especially in rural and deprived communities.

He added that it was going to be a key partner in the new initiative to achieve the SDGs on health.

Dr. Charles Duah, Deputy Executive Secretary of CHAG, said association would continue to maintain its identity as Christian health institution, which cared for the poor, the sick and the needy.

This it would do by building the capacity of the workers to deliver quality services.

The Right Reverend Christopher Nyarko Andam, Methodist Diocesan Bishop of Kumasi, said the church believed in holistic transformation of the individual.

It was on the basis of this that it had undertaken a number social interventions - building of health facilities, schools and other social amenities to promote the wellbeing of the people.

The Rt. Rev Andam asked the health workers to uphold high standards of professionalism, work with passion and to have empathy for the sick.