Ghana's health sector is in crisis - GMA

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on Sunday said the nation's health sector was in crisis and unless the government took concrete actions and pragmatic measures to meet the situation and rectify the imbalances in the system the country would soon experience a disaster in the sector.

The GMA appealed to the government to recognise the escalating crisis in the health sector before irreparable damage was done to health care delivery and ultimately the health of Ghanaians.

It advised the government to urgently institute measures to halt the wholesale recruitment of health professionals by agencies and Ghanaians living abroad for commission.

This was contained in a communiqu? issued at the GMA's second Representative Board Meeting in Sunyani.

The three-day meeting, attended by 22 participants from all over the country, deliberated on issues affecting the medical profession and the country's health sector in general.

The Communiqu? said the government had refused to recognise the crisis in the health sector, citing increasing preventable deaths, decreasing quality of health service and decreasing access to health care due to the accelerated rate of mass exodus of all categories of health professionals.

It noted "the deliberate act of foot-dragging and lack of political will on the part of the government in negotiations on remuneration and conditions of service of health professionals, which started almost two years ago".

The GMA called on the government, as a matter of urgency, to conclude the negotiations on the remuneration and conditions of service for health professionals as a definitive step to avert the crisis in the health sector and to reduce the stress, tension, pre-mature deaths among health professionals, heightened agitation and improve the morale of health professionals.

The communiqu? reminded the Minister of Health, the Council of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Boards of the Teaching Hospitals on the urgent need to ensure the enactment of a Legislative Instrument (LI) to back the GHS and Teaching Hospitals Board Act 525 of 1996 to make it fully operational.

It said the Ministry of Health must strengthen the structures set up to combat the potential spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to Ghana while educating and updating the general public on measures being taken to safeguard their health against the disease.

The Communiqu? urged all members of the GMA to be vigilant, update themselves and to educate the public on preventive measures on the SARS.

"The government should also take measures to protect the life of refugees and Ghanaians working in the boarder towns."

It commended the Food and Drugs Board and urged the personnel to continue with their vigilance and to bring the full force of the law to bear on all who fell foul with it.