Health workers urged to show commitment to ensuring patients’ well-being

Health service providers have been called upon to show more commitment towards ensuring the well-being of patients.

Dr Eugene Nyarko, the First Manager of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Ministry of Health, made the call at the 17th Public Lecture of the Accra College of Medicine at East Legon.

It was on the theme: “Training the Five-Star Doctor of Excellence in the 21st Century.”

Dr Nyarko, who is also a Founding Lecturer of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, expressed worry over the use of mobile phones by healthcare providers while on duty to the neglect of patients and said that should be discouraged.

He said medical training focused on the basic sciences of human biology and clinical skill acquisition, hence the professionals were well equipped to provide optimum physical, mental and social healthcare to their patients.

However, Dr Nyarko said, while in practice the average medical practitioner was expected to perform other roles and functions for which he was not specifically trained.

These include managerial, complex multidisciplinary decision making, leadership and other roles expected of a doctor.

Dr Nyarko called on medical training institutions to incorporate those critical aspects of healthcare delivery in their curriculum to produce quality professionals for the nation.

Professor Efua Hesse, the Principal of the Accra College of Medicine, said the institution was mandated to produce world-class medical practitioners who were relevant, research-oriented and tailored towards solving medical problems.