Medical Director of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital (ENRH), Dr Joseph Kojo Tambil has hinted that the hospital has expanded the management team from seven to fifteen, adding on heads of clinical units; formed an extended management team made of all units heads which met monthly and applied for HEFRA accreditation which was finally obtained in early 2021 over the last two years he took office.
He recounted a few challenges that bedevilled the hospital in time past and said there was a huge disjoint between management and the generality of staff with a lot of mutual mistrust with an all-time low relationship with the public.
He added that the infrastructure has been in a deplorable state, equipment break was common (including the lifts), shortages of consumables and logistics were the order of the day and the compound was in a mess, while finances were in a very bad shape as they owed suppliers including the regional medical stores to a tune of over four million cedis.
Dr Tambil made the disclosure in a welcome address when the hospital held its first-ever stakeholder engagement to advance the quality of its health service and to showcase both old and new services that many do not know about.
However, he said, immediately he took office, he set out to work to reverse the challenges and therefore introduced some activities and strategies in seven (7) thematic areas which have yielded some positive returns whiles others pend.
He pointed out that even though the hospital was still not out of the woods in terms of its finances, the figures were all pointing in a positive direction, towards recovery.
He mentioned some of the successes made as plugging of revenue leakages at morgue, lab and other services points, cutting off spending on non-core areas such as hotel bills and increased purchase of supplies for service delivery and reducing the hospital’s indebtedness considerably.
He expressed gratitude to the organizing committee chaired by Dr Esi Gazie, for their dedication and hard work to ensure that the program was a success and thanked friends, stakeholders and partners who assisted them in diverse ways to organize the event.
Mr Frederick Agyemang, Western Regional Coordinating Director who represented the Western Regional Minister said investing in the health system not only saves lives but is also a crucial investment in the wider economy in that ill-health impairs productivity, hinders job prospects and adversely affects human capital development.
He noted that Public Health was the foundation of social, economic and political stability and for that matter, the Government of Ghana will continue to do its part to confront the challenges that are faced with the sector.
He opined that to ensure good health for the people of Ghana, the Government continues to improve and invest in the health system by building more health facilities to bring access to basic health services.
He touted some government interventions in health as the National Health Insurance policy which has been a saviour to many lives, the free maternal health care policy that allows mothers to access health care free from antenatal to post-delivery and the current Government intention to bring into fruition an AGENDA 111 that seeks to bring more health facilities onboard for the benefit of all of us.
Story: Seth A Danquah
