Focus on preventive health care first
- Asantehene
Kumasi, June 19, Ghanadot/GNA – Otumfuo Osei Tutu II,
Asantehene, has underscored the need for the nation to
make a conscious effort at focusing and promoting
preventive health care.
He said stakeholders in the health sector should always
be on the offensive in the fight against filth, diseases
and environmental degradation, instead of waiting for
the situation to get out of hand before voting a chunk
of funds to address these challenges.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu made the call at the opening session
of the Ninth Quadrennial National Delegates Conference
of the Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) of the
Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kumasi on Thursday.
The event is being held on the theme “Labour and
Management Relations in promoting quality health care:
Achievements, Challenges and Prospects, 50 years and
beyond”.
The Asantehene noted that preventive health care was
necessary to help the nation save some capital and
resources for the development of the other sectors of
the economy for an accelerated growth.
He expressed his concern about the recent global
economic hardships and food crisis and said this called
for an emergency plan by government to improve on the
working conditions of Ghanaian workers as well as their
livelihood.
He observed that without such a plan in place, workers
would continue to suffer untold hardships, which could
have a multiplying effect on their performance.
On management-labour relations, Otumfuo Osei Tutu urged
administrators in the health sector to always accord
their subordinates the needed respect to foster good
working relations for increased productivity.
Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health,
indicated that government was working hard to address
the brain-drain phenomenon, and that, as a result of
this, the nation was collaborating with some
identifiable countries with the intent of instituting
comprehensive measures to improve on the situation.
He said as part of the plan these countries were
supposed to pay some sort of compensation to the
Ghanaian government to help make amends for the loss
suffered by the nation in the event of health workers
migrating to these countries.
Mr Gameli Akoto, General Secretary of the HSWU, advised
members of the union to uphold the code of ethics of
their profession for sustainable development of the
health sector.
GNA
