Newly Appointed Medical Superintendents advised to improve health care delivery in their various districts.

The governing council of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has organized a three days workshop of the newly appointed medical superintendent in kumasi to ensure quality care and safety of every patients in health facilities.

The orientation also aimed to established a clinical governing committee as part of measures to ensure quality care and safety of patients.

The newly committee which would be one of the standing committees of the council would help strengthen clinical governance in the service.

Speaking to the media, Dr. Sefa Sarpong Bediako, Chairman of the Governing Council of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) said, the core business of the GHS is to care for patients hence the need to prioritize clinical governance to provide the best of care to patients.

The workshop sought to equip the participants with requisite knowledge and understanding of their new roles to function effectively in the interest of quality health care delivery in their various facilities.

“In accordance with section 9 of the enabling Act 525, the council has decided to establish a clinical governing committee”, Dr. Bediako revealed.

He said the committee would review and ensure that adequate clinical, quality and safety practices and systems will be put in place to improve the standard of care in all health facilities.

Dr. Bediako Sarpong entreated the newly appointed Medical Superintendents to live up to expectation by working closely with all relevant stakeholders in their districts to improve health care delivery.

The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye in his speech read on his behalf said, Medical Superintendents has additional responsibilities of overseeing public health unit of their facilities aside from the core mandate of ensuring quality clinical care services.

He charged them to be interested in the public health units of their facilities, saying that any medical superintendent who neglectes his or her public health unit in this era of emerging and re-emerging illnesses is denying the people of Ghana a great disservice”.

“They must be interested in disease surveillance which starts in the consulting rooms and must make their facilities ready to detect epidemic prone diseases and rapidly and appropriately respond to it,” he advised.

Dr. Kuma further counselled medical superintendents to have a good working relationship with their respective Metropolitan, Municipal and District Health directors.

He urged them to provide technical support to lower health facilities including Health Centres and Community Health and Planning Services(CHIPS) Compounds within their catchment area in collaboration with their district directors of health services.

“These responsibilities demonstrate important roles of the medical superintendent in the pursuit of the mission of service.

“The position is at the heart of the GHS as the conducts, actions and inactions of the holder of the position directly affects the fortunes of the service either positively or negatively,” he said.

The Ashanti Regional health director,  Dr. Emmanuel Tenkorang on his speech advised the newly appointed medical superintendents to build a strong human relationship with their teams to be successful as heads of their facilities.

“You are working with a team and I believe that you must forge a healthy relationship with them in order to become a leader who will be appreciated by members of your team,” he added.

Dr. Tenkorang entreated them to be abreast with the policies and guidelines of the Ministry of Health and work in accordance with them in order not to deviate from health policy direction of the Government.

Nana Yaw Owusu/Ashanti Region.