Tamale, Sept. 9, GNA - Dr Jacob Mahama, the Northern Regional Deputy Director of Public Health, has appealed to the Health Services Workers' Union to play a lead role in devising ways of attracting health personnel to the region.

He said a great number of health personnel posted to the region had always declined to accept postings due to lack of adequate information about the prospects in the region.

"You need to play a lead role in engaging in motivated acts that would attract health personnel into the region," Dr Mahama said at a meeting with the Northern Regional branch of the Health Services Workers' Union (HSWU).

The workers called on him as part of their health services week celebration.

Dr Mahama said it was also important for the union executives to live exemplary lives by adopting two-way communication methods in addressing their concerns so that industrial unrest would not always characterize salary negotiations.

"Instead of trying to fight for salary negotiations, take the pains to know how your members are faring and check the perceived negative attitudes of some health workers and address them," he said.

He said there were some serious issues confronting the health sector in relation to personnel attitudes towards clients that health authorities were trying to solve internally to ensure quality healthcare delivery.

Alhaji Ahmed I. Adam, Assistant Northern Regional Chief Industrial Relations Officer, said the union would strive harder to ensure that pluralism within the sector was addressed.

He said one major challenge facing the union was lack of harmonization and understanding among the professional associations within the health sector and called for unity of purpose to achieve a common goal.

Alhaji Adam later presented some cartons of Kalypo, biscuits and a wall clock to patients at the Children's Ward of the Tamale Central Hospital where the union members did a four-hour clean-up exercise.