NDC Parliamentary candidate to attract doctors for Navrongo

Sampson Tangombu Chiragia, the Parliamentary Candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the Navrongo Central Constituency in the Upper East Region has underscored the need to attract doctors to improve health service delivery at the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo.

The entire Upper East Region had over the years lacked Doctors and Specialists to attend to critical medical and surgical cases, especially at the Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, which is the Region’s major referral Centre.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after a health walk on major streets within the Navrongo township, Mr Chiragia said the Constituency had over the period recorded road traffic accidents with limited Doctors to attend to them in the hospital.

He said Navrongo was a peaceful and developed area that Doctors would be prepared to stay, adding “There is the need for us to motivate Doctors to stay here and work. They should be given nice accommodations and some incentives to encourage them to stay.

“So if they are able to get about 80 percent of what they get in Accra, they would probably stay and work so that the health sector in Navrongo will improve,” the Parliamentary Candidate, who is contesting the Navrongo Central seat for the first time added.

He said the continuous development of Navrongo was his priority, “It is about Navrongo, the people and Ghana. Navrongo is bigger than any individual. All the projects that were started by previous and current Members of Parliament for Navrongo, if I am given the nod, I will complete them.

“It is not about NDC, it is not about NPP, it is about the people of Navrongo,” he said, and urged supporters of all political parties in the December 7 elections to love each other and campaign peacefully for the common benefit of the area.

The Parliamentary Candidate further entreated supporters of the NDC to strengthen their campaigns in the communities, enter all households and galvanise support for the Party stressing that “No fight, unity is all we want.”

When the GNA contacted Dr Eric Wedam, the Acting Medical Director of the War Memorial Hospital to ascertain the Doctor population in the facility, he disclosed that there were just two Doctors who attended to patients in all critical units of the facility on daily basis.

He said even though Paga, Fumbisi and Sandema District hospitals had Doctors, the War Memorial hospital sometimes received emergency referral cases, especially on weekends from these Districts when their Doctors were not available.

Dr Wedam said four Doctors from the facility were on study leave, and explained that “When they finish their Specialist programmes, sometimes coming back to this place is problematic because they have to undergo their house job as Specialists.

“They need to be at facilities where they can undergo training as Specialists before they can move to the rural areas. Some of them do not return after their house job.”

He said for the facility to operate comfortably, all clinical units such as the gynaecological and obstetric unit, male and female wards, paediatric unit, surgical unit among others should have unit Doctors to attend to patients daily.