MoH to establish intelligence gathering unit

The Ministry of Health as part of efforts to sanitize the health sector is considering the establishment of a health intelligence gathering unit to check malpractices in the sector.

Personnel from the proposed unit would be responsible for monitoring activities of health workers in various health facilities and other institutions under the Ministry to weed out unscrupulous characters from the system.

Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister for Health, who made the disclosure at the mid-year review of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) at Nsuta in the Sekyere Central District, said the move would eliminate various malfeasances and improve service delivery.

This year’s annual mid-year review, which sought to take stock of the council’s operations, identify gap and reposition itself as a more focused and vibrant regulatory body, was held under the theme: ‘Peak Performance II”.

It was attended by representatives from all the 12 offices of the council across the 10 regions.

The Minister said there is an urgent need for the Ministry and sector agencies to establish a client service unit and develop a client service charter to offer quality services to the people of Ghana.

He said the Ministry was taking the needed steps to ensure that all agencies under the Ministry would provide paperless services in their financial transactions and electronic record management systems.

Mr Agyemang-Manu said the Ministry in collaboration with other stakeholders was in the process of establishing a national emergency center with a toll free number that would coordinate the evacuation of patients in a professional manner.

“This will be a platform which will help in tackling the no bed issues that has been a challenge in our various health facilities”, he said.

He urged the management of the NMC to institute healthy, positive and productive structures about the future of staff and the organization.

Mr Felix Nyante, Registrar of the NMC, said the Council during the year under review has laid the foundation for a future of orderly, sustainable and evidence-based growth.

He said the Council has undertaken an ambitious range of structural actions and decisions that were transforming its service delivery to clients.

He reminded delegates of the need to set and achieve pace-setting goals to take the council to the next level of performance.

“We must not forget about the essence of our existence which is to secure in the public interest the highest standards of training and practice of nursing and midwifery”, he said.