The Dilemma of ‘Knocking’ our Health Services

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• citizen 12 years ago

  Well written Paul.
  Our bane is the political lenses that most Ghanaian are wearing. It is killing us and my prayer is for God to intervene to remove these lenses.

  Well written Paul.
  Our bane is the political lenses that most Ghanaian are wearing. It is killing us and my prayer is for God to intervene to remove these lenses.

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• Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 12 years ago

  Happy New Year Paul and thanks responding to the sensational article by Kwaku Danso. It's sad that your article will not be a hit because readers on Ghanaweb are most often interested in sensational articles but not objective ...
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  Happy New Year Paul and thanks responding to the sensational article by Kwaku Danso. It's sad that your article will not be a hit because readers on Ghanaweb are most often interested in sensational articles but not objective ones. Just a couple of days ago I watched news or a programme on one of the Ghanaian tv stations on my laptop. There was a news item on health that featured the Accident Department of K'Bu. The families of patients who were interviewed were full of praise for the staff and the services they were receiving. These were patients from outside Accra and referred from other regional and district hospitals. I know these may be be the exception rather than the norm. It is true that the health service in Ghana is nothing compared to what we are used to in the Diaspora but it is also a truism that it is not what Kwaku Danso attempted to portray in his article. He or his family might have encountered a horrible experience but he cannot use that as a yardstick to paint the entire K'Bu hospital red.
  
  It's interesting I had the same discussion on Kwaku Danso's article with a friend in New York last night. Yes, things in Ghana are not perfect but we should be careful not to condemn everything for whatever motive we may have.
  
  Happy New Year to all Ghanaweb readers.

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• Alex Ampofo Brong Ahafo. 12 years ago

  What is her Job description?. Her New Year message was for Ghanaians to honour heroes. I was expecting her to address any plans she has for the Health care system in Ghana. After all there has been concerned citizens organizi ...
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  What is her Job description?. Her New Year message was for Ghanaians to honour heroes. I was expecting her to address any plans she has for the Health care system in Ghana. After all there has been concerned citizens organizing open forums here and there. Everybody is now talking about health care in Ghana.Instead she used the time and space to tell Ghanaians to honour our heroes.

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• B. Adjei 11 years ago

  The minister is not very smart. Nobody in their right mind would have given a speech like that at such a season but she is beyond reproach. Try asking her a simple question at a public forum and her handlers will quickly inte ...
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  The minister is not very smart. Nobody in their right mind would have given a speech like that at such a season but she is beyond reproach. Try asking her a simple question at a public forum and her handlers will quickly intervene thereby preventing her from answering. She is very protected. she doesnt really care what she says to or does for Ghanaians.

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  and many happy returns.

  and many happy returns.

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• James 12 years ago

  Thanks very much for your informative article. My frustration is we have no notion of routine maintenance. Look at the Surgical Block edifice in Korle Bu and compare it to say what is was 30-40 years ago. It is a pity site.
  ...
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  Thanks very much for your informative article. My frustration is we have no notion of routine maintenance. Look at the Surgical Block edifice in Korle Bu and compare it to say what is was 30-40 years ago. It is a pity site.
  It is true that the patient-doctor/nurse ratio is very bad but Ghanaian doctors from abroad who want to return home either on short term or permanent basis to help are frustrated by the bureaucracy.
  Wouldn't it be a good idea if we required all government appointees to seek their healthcare in Ghana first before jumping on the first available flight out of the. That way they would be more inclined to help improve the health service.

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  I agree with your points of view.

  I agree with your points of view.

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• R Owiredu Ohio 11 years ago

  Ghana does not repair anything, From office buildings to electrical equipment. Go to the ministries. The site is very disappionting. Yet there are able bodied youth walking around crying unemployment. These youngsters would l ...
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  Ghana does not repair anything, From office buildings to electrical equipment. Go to the ministries. The site is very disappionting. Yet there are able bodied youth walking around crying unemployment. These youngsters would love to maintain these buildings but who will initiate this effort. It has to be the President. Every idea has to be approved by his office. therefore nothing gets done.

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• nabia 12 years ago

  Dr Amuna. Well said. The health sector is moving but is generally being frustrated by a gang of doctors and others who think it is their divine right to lord over us.
  Look let us reduce the fetish status of korelebu. It is t ...
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  Dr Amuna. Well said. The health sector is moving but is generally being frustrated by a gang of doctors and others who think it is their divine right to lord over us.
  Look let us reduce the fetish status of korelebu. It is too unwieldy a hospital to manage if it is a corporate entity.
  Waste and ineptness is the order of the day.The minster has to be involved before lifts and air conditioners are repaired at the premier health facility.
  The govt should relocate cardio centre and other specialized units and make them competitive

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  There is scope for turning things around and making our big hospitals more functional and less of "ivory towers". I believe We The People are notdoing enough by way of patient pressure groups or civil society, to exert enough ...
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  There is scope for turning things around and making our big hospitals more functional and less of "ivory towers". I believe We The People are notdoing enough by way of patient pressure groups or civil society, to exert enough pressure for these changes to take place. In my opinion, doctors may be leaders of the health team but ALL members of the team are very important for things to wrk well, from the maintenance workers, through cleaners and the ladies preparing the food in the hospital kitchen.

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• Titugri 12 years ago

  Doctor, I partially agree with you in your views. However, like many other things in Ghana, corruption is destroying the health system. Some doctors and nurses will pay little to no attention to a patient who does not have an ...
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  Doctor, I partially agree with you in your views. However, like many other things in Ghana, corruption is destroying the health system. Some doctors and nurses will pay little to no attention to a patient who does not have anyone to lead them in the hospital.
  
  You see when an ordinary person goes to the hospital for medical help, some of the doctors and nurses just don't seem to care at all. They yell at them and sometimes just leave them to wait for hours on end. The opposite is true if the patient is either a VIP or someone who has paid bribe to an "agent" of the doctor or nurses.

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  I think I alluded to this when I acknowledged the fact that some people are unprofessional. I also tried to identify some of the problems and frustrations that affect clinical practice but do not for a moment accept those as ...
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  I think I alluded to this when I acknowledged the fact that some people are unprofessional. I also tried to identify some of the problems and frustrations that affect clinical practice but do not for a moment accept those as good excuses for being rude and dismissive of patients and their relatives. I am also averse to favouritism of the kind you describe and in my own practice always sought to help all regardless.

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• Kobena 12 years ago

  Paul,
  Happy 2014!
  This is a good piece and I hope you meant it for discussion. I trust that you did not lose your dear Mom because of the heartless treatment she received at the time.
  
  While I have also received excellen ...
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  Paul,
  Happy 2014!
  This is a good piece and I hope you meant it for discussion. I trust that you did not lose your dear Mom because of the heartless treatment she received at the time.
  
  While I have also received excellent services in the past at Korle Bu, especially mainly because I know a good number of senior specialists at the hospital, I have also heard equally harrowing tales in which people have lost loved ones unnecessarily.
  
  Just last week, I was informed about two my relations in Accra having to wheel one of our distant relatives INTO the operating theatre, for a major surgery because the nurses and orderlies wouldn't do it!
  
  The point is not about what services our neighbours are getting but what we used to get as Ghanaians! From Effia Nkwatnta through "Europen Hospital" to Korle Bu, Kotobaabi Polyclinic, Manhyia Polyclinic, Legon. UST and Koforidua Hospitals, I have personally received great services in Ghana in the past. We cannot continue to go backward as a people, as is happening now.
  
  The only reason why that is happening is because the politicians do not care about the people of Ghana. If we the people force them to use local health services instead of paying for their superior healthcare overseas, they will begin to resource our health facilities and pay our healthcare professionals decent wages, to render civilised services to the rest of society! I believe that is what Kwaku was suggesting, even if he used high hyperbole!

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  Many happy returns for 2014 Kobena. Indeed it is true that the services are varied and the personal encounters vary. I also agree with your observation about the apparent deterioration in services as is becoming more and more ...
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  Many happy returns for 2014 Kobena. Indeed it is true that the services are varied and the personal encounters vary. I also agree with your observation about the apparent deterioration in services as is becoming more and more apparent.
  
  Sure, the politicians have a role to play and in my view the minister of health ought to be more proactive in carrying out their duties of 'spot visits' and checking to see how the service is working. They could employ the services of 'mystery patients' whose job will be to go through these experiences (simulated patients of course) and to record and return these for the hospital authorities to be called to account for example.
  
  I also believe investments in the health sector need to be tangible and ring-fenced, and that accountability in terms of revenue must be properly monitored and the 'surpluses ploughed back into developing the facilities for both patients and practitioners.
  
  In my view, we really need dedicated pro-Ghana politicians who care for the country and moving the country forward rather than their own political survival or cheap populism which unfortunately seems to characterise a lot of what we see in politics at the moment.
  
  I sincerely hope that we will see the day when people are chosen to serve the country based on their conviction and deidcation to serving Ghana rather than the 'politics as usual mentality'.
  
  Indeed I meant this to be a discussion and appreciate the various contributions so far. I havepromised myself to focus mostly on health-related topics this year. I hope I can keep to that promise and also wish you well in what appears to be a crucial year for all of us.

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• Kobena 12 years ago

  Yes, indeed, Paul,
  The concept of "mystery patients" is making a very significant contribution towards healthcare delivery in East Anglia (UK) where we live and where my wife works in the NHS system. It is putting all conce ...
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  Yes, indeed, Paul,
  The concept of "mystery patients" is making a very significant contribution towards healthcare delivery in East Anglia (UK) where we live and where my wife works in the NHS system. It is putting all concerned on their toes.
  
  Sure, there are mischief makers, but all cases are thoroughly investigated to ensure that selfless and hardworking healthcare personnel are not victimised.
  
  I am glad that you as a professional will be targeting healthcare delivery during 2014. I have always believed that if we could take at least one issue a year (another major one is education), and find solutions to them, our country could be transformed within a decade.
  
  The real shame of it all is the fact that our politics, as being practised today does not allow for the utilistion of the best talents of our country!

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• Whatever 12 years ago

  When is Amuna going to stop writing stuffs that make readers feel sleepy. The underlying causes of our poor health delivery system is there . Why do you bore us with the symtons? Do you want Bill Gate to come and tell you tha ...
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  When is Amuna going to stop writing stuffs that make readers feel sleepy. The underlying causes of our poor health delivery system is there . Why do you bore us with the symtons? Do you want Bill Gate to come and tell you that Ghana's health service is not pro-active but rather reactive and lagging. This is a health system that is not evolving because it has no indigenous, strategic or breakthrough researches supporting it. With this how can it adapt to also earn something to compliment what Government gives it. Why won't there be a cycle of frustration when dependency is what you believe in... Waiting for money to come from somewhere, depending on world bank, the Bill Gates and the IMF for everything.

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  Simply stop reading my "stuffs" will you?

  Simply stop reading my "stuffs" will you?

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• Johnson Oxford 12 years ago

  Mr. Whatever, you have got it all wrong by attacking the writer. There is nothing wrong to get some donor assistance to support our health system. Let me tell you that the health sector is gradually weaning itself from donor ...
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  Mr. Whatever, you have got it all wrong by attacking the writer. There is nothing wrong to get some donor assistance to support our health system. Let me tell you that the health sector is gradually weaning itself from donor dependency. The writer has brought very important points for discussion. Infrastructure, staff attitude, skills, competencies an d motivation, investment etc. Whilst countries in Europe and North America spend between 4000 Euros and 8000 euros per capita on health yearly, we spend less than 100 dollars per capita. These are the issues we should all discuss if we want to leave a better health system for our children and grand children.
  One of the major problems in discussing health problems is often the bias that even keep health workers away from reading and fairly interpret the content and it's good that the writer has tried to avoid that.

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• Godwin, Chicago 12 years ago

  you have covered the basic problem in Ghana public sector but not only the health sector. It is not going to be easy for any government to be bold enough to fix them because most Ghanaian are experts in every field. you read ...
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  you have covered the basic problem in Ghana public sector but not only the health sector. It is not going to be easy for any government to be bold enough to fix them because most Ghanaian are experts in every field. you read Ghana web, you do not want go there next time because of foul language. you listen to the radio, the same thing. Thanks Paul for addressing these problems and I hope those who are in the position to address them will be reminded of their responsibilities and indeed have the courage to deal with these problem. Good night.

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