Mr Benjamin Aggrey, the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Health Director in the Upper East Region has called on community members in the Municipality to desist from physically attacking health professionals to enable them concentrate and deliver quality healthcare services.
He said the attacks were mostly orchestrated by some youth who were suspected to be on substance abuse, and disclosed that health professionals, especially nurses and midwives had to suspend services in some facilities in the Municipality for fear of attacks on them.
Mr Aggrey who made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga recalled recent attacks on health facilities at some communities in the Municipality, where some property were destroyed, and appealed to community members to treat health staff well.
He said though the Municipal Health Directorate had liaised with traditional authorities in the areas to calm the situation, health staff in those communities still lived in fear, which affected productivity.
The Director expressed concern about the stress health professionals faced in the Municipality, especially Midwives and Community Health Nurses regarding accommodation, and disclosed that most of them used their private motorbikes to render services to remote communities.
Mr Aggrey said staff who were posted to places as far as Naga, a community in the Municipality, rode on daily basis to render care as there was no available accommodation at such remote areas.
“Accommodation is mainly inadequate, at some of the places, you may get two rooms for staff, it is very difficult for them to stay in the communities,” he said, and added that there was only a room for the midwife at Naga, while the rest of the staff travelled daily to the community to deliver service.
Mr Aggrey acknowledged the efforts of the Municipal Assembly and said it had started some construction works in some communities to support in service delivery, and appealed to Non-Governmental Organisations and philanthropists to complement the efforts of government.
He used the opportunity to admonish health professionals in the Municipality to continue to deliver quality services to clients, despite all odds, and counselled them to adhere to safety measures, by ensuring that they used crash helmets anytime they travelled on their motorbikes.
By Godfred A. Polkuu, GNA
