Health workers cautioned against poor attitude to patients

Cape Coast, June 9, GNA - Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kumbuor on Monday bemoaned the poor attitude of some health personnel towards patients seeking health care. He said the undesirable attitude of health staff towards patients during the colonial era had not changed much over 50 years after independence and wondered why professionals should treat patients with disdain.

Dr Kumbuor who was addressing the 17th Annual District Directors of Health Services Group of Ghana Conference at Cape Coast, charged them to deliver on purpose and not to depend solely on resources before performing.

He said only 1.8 percent of the rural population in some areas had access to health care delivery.

The four-day conference was on the theme: "Improving health delivery amidst dwindling resources: a challenge for the District Director of Health Services".

Dr Kumbour said health had become a fundamental human right and therefore the situation where some personnel particularly medical doctors and nurses treated patients as if they were doing them a favour must stop.

He enumerated some of the challenges facing the nation to include malnutrition, poor sanitation, unsafe water, poverty and inadequate health care providers, high infant and maternal mortalities and inaccessible health care services to the rural poor. He charged the District Directors to work above the status quo in order to make health care accessible to all Ghanaians. He said government would review the National Health Insurance Scheme to increase access to quality health care delivery. The Deputy Minister underscored the importance of healthy diet and urged the public to avoid unhealthy lifestyles but to rather eat more vegetables and fruits.

The Acting Regional Director of Cape Coast, Nana Owusu Boampong, urged health personnel to manage the limited resources at their disposal to provide quality health care to the public. He stressed on the fact that dwindling resources was a reality but the global economic crisis would add to the problem and urged the District Directors to do their best to confront it.