Gov’t to expand National Medical Outreach Services - Veep

Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has stated that government intends to expand the National Medical Outreach Services to enhance healthcare delivery in the country.

He said currently the government was rolling out the programme in 43 districts across the country to provide interactive health education in remote communities in order to promote healthy life style and prevent diseases.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur made the statement when he inaugurated eight National Medical Outreach Service mobile clinics dubbed “Onuado” at Cape Coast, in the Central Region.

The eight state-of- the- art mobile clinics are to provide services for general medical care, dental services, eye screening and hearing assessment services.

The first of the programme is expected to cover communities in 43 districts across the ten regions of the country.

These include six districts each in the Central, Western and Volta regions, three districts each in Eastern, Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions, five districts in the Northern region and four districts each in the Upper West and East regions.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur also stated that the mobile clinics being deployed to the remote communities are to ensure that the equity gaps in healthcare delivery, across the country are bridged.

He said the government over the last five years has invested massively in the development of healthcare infrastructure.

He enumerated a number projects, which are at various stages of completion, including the University of Ghana Teaching hospital, the Ridge hospital and the new military hospital in Kumasi among others.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur also said the inauguration of the mobile clinics shows how government attaches great importance to healthcare delivery in the country and the human development index.

He said the objective is to minimise the inequalities in accessing healthcare by removing the gap which exist.

He said the National Medical Outreach Services is an innovation to augment healthcare delivery, adding that, the inauguration of today’s mobile clinic would run concurrently in both the Western and Central regions.

He said mobile health clinics provide a significant alternative to healthcare delivery system for people who find themselves outside the main population centres.

Mr Alex Segbefia, Minister of Health stated that the objective for incorporating fully equipped mobile clinics into the healthcare delivery system was to elevate the capabilities of the existing specialist outreach programme.

He said the introduction of the mobile clinics to the remote communities would also provide emergency treatment to those members of the community who would require them, adding that, the mobile clinics are quite effective compared to the traditional interventions, which tend to be more capital intensive.

Mr Segbefia also said the wellbeing of the people was crucial to the productivity, success and wealth of a nation, and that, government was putting in place measures to ensure that various communities are adequately protected from the threat of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

He said the government would thus spare no effort in training, deploying and resourcing healthcare personnel, who look after the welfare of patients.