IMPROVING HEALTH CARE FOR THE PEOPLE (NOV 27, 2010)

IT is a truism to equate health with wealth.
Indeed, health, in some aspects, carries more weight than wealth, for while health can always engender wealth, not all wealth can secure health.
It is also worth pointing out that the difference in levels of socio-economic development between one nation and another, in many respects, comes down to the quality of health of their respective people.
This is largely so because the ability of individuals to engage in productive work to increase productivity to facilitate the creation of wealth on a sustainable basis is a function of the state of health of these individuals.
It is largely on account of the huge importance attached to the health of the people that the government devotes a substantial amount of state resources to develop health-related infrastructure and train and develop the requisite level of human resource for the sector.
Within the past three or four decades, Ghana has widely been acknowledged as one of a few African countries to have shown that they have the indigenous capacity to turn out hundreds of well-trained and competent medical practitioners, including doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, nurses, among others, on an annual basis.
This notwithstanding, the number of health workers, particularly doctors, per the population is still very low and this is undermining the delivery of quality health care at affordable cost to the people.
One of the key factors responsible for this development is the general brain drain whereby competent and often more experienced doctors and other health personnel leave the country and take up appointments in other countries across the world.
It is no secret that unattractive conditions of service and lack of the requisite equipment to work with have contributed mainly to frustrate many of our doctors to abandon their jobs here and look outside for similar jobs with better remuneration and working conditions.
While there may be some justification for this movement of our health personnel, the full story, when told, also leaves them important questions to answer.
It is on record that the government, on an annual basis, spends colossal sums of money to train doctors and other health personnel to the highest possible standard.
The money expended is from taxpayers, many of whom are poor and cannot patronise the expensive medical care readily available at private clinics and hospitals.
It is, therefore, widely expected that this expenditure will be reciprocated by our doctors by staying back and rendering to the people the benefit of their expertise.
After all, doctors, in conformity with their Hippocratic oath, are enjoined to consider the health of their people first, more than any considerations, including monetary.
This is what makes the medical profession one of the most noble professions and an important calling to which not only the brilliant and persevering must respond but also the most diligent and humane.
It is on account of these and other factors that we want to add our voice to the call by President John Evans Atta Mills on our doctors living and working abroad to return home to help improve healthcare delivery in the country.
While the doctors cannot be given the kind of remuneration and conditions of service given them abroad, it is worthy to note that remuneration levels have, over the years, seen some improvement and efforts are underway to make them even better under the Single Spine Salary Structure.
We wish to take this opportunity to salute the many doctors and health workers who have sacrificed to stay behind and also the hundreds of Cuban doctors, many of whom are serving in rural areas, for the immense contributions they have made to improve the lives of the people.