Dormaa East Health Directorate appeals for staff accommodation

The Dormaa East District Directorate of the Ghana Health Service has appealed to government, benevolent organisations and philanthropists to rescue them from the inadequate staff accommodation.

The challenge is affecting the required number of health staff expected to work at the District Hospital and other health centres in the District.

Ms Esther Akua Konadu Prempeh, the District Director of Health Services made the appeal when she was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the Health Directorate's 2020 annual performance review meeting at Wamfie in the Bono Region.

She lamented the District Hospital could not retain staff because of accommodation challenges, stressing that it lost nine personnel including; five midwives last year.

Ms Prempeh added the high cost of rent at particularly Wamfie, the District capital was a contributory factor and the Directorate critically needed human resources to reach everywhere and everyone in the District with primary healthcare services.

She said the Hospital had only six blocks accommodating two staff each, an abandoned block that could also accommodate about six staff if renovated and a large plot of land for accommodation project.

In view of the availability of land for building projects, there would be no problem concerning land acquisition if a philanthropist, a charitable or corporate organisation decided to come to the aid of the Directorate, Ms Prempeh said.

In a related interview, Dr. Ransford Hoyah-Quarshie, the District Medical Superintendent said “there are only two physicians responsible for the Hospital and other Health Centres in the District.

But the Hospital alone recorded 38,000 Out-Patients Department (OPD) attendants in 2020, making the Doctor-patient ratio one-is-to 19,000, he cited.

The challenge, Dr. Hoyah-Quarshie noted was limiting targets regarding consultation of Physician by patients, which could consequently affect quality healthcare delivery services.