Veep, a lot more needs to be done

Vice President John Dramani Mahama has announced at Sunyani, in the Brong Ahafo Region, that the second phase of the programme to provide modern regional hospitals for all the regions in the country, will continue with the provision of new hospitals in Wa, Bolgatanga and Koforidua.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital in Sunyani last Friday, Mr. Mahama said it was the determination of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to ensure that healthcare was made accessible to every Ghanaian.

To stimulate growth in the economy, healthcare is very important, because if the working population cannot get access to healthcare facilities when they fall sick, it would affect their contribution to the nation's productivity.

The Chronicle, therefore, welcomes Mr. Mahama's pronouncement that the government would provide regional hospitals for the Eastern, Upper West and East regions, which do not have such facilities.

But, as noted by the Vice President himself, the provision of physical structures alone cannot be solely considered as sufficient panacea to solving the health needs of the citizenry.

The Volta Regional Hospital at Ho, which can boast of modern health facilities, is struggling to attract medical doctors.

Just recently, patients who went to the hospital to seek medical attention were turned away, because there were no doctors to attend to them.

Unconfirmed reports say most of the doctors posted to the hospital have gone back to Accra, because there are no viable economic activities in the town.

Other hospitals in Bolgatanga, Wa, and those in the rural areas, are also experiencing similar problems.

There is, therefore, greater attraction of medical doctors to Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi, where economic activities are booming. With such a problem at hand, it would be wrong for the government to assume that providing more hospitals for the people would automatically solve their health needs.

The Chronicle is suggesting that practical measures should be devised to attract doctors to man these modern health facilities, otherwise, they would become white elephants, after millions of taxpayers' money have been sunk into them.

One cannot talk about quality healthcare, without mentioning modern health facilities and the availability of doctors, because the two are inseparable.

If the government would have to provide incentives, allowances and better remuneration to bait the doctors to these modern hospitals in deprived areas, then it has to be done, rather than allow the facility to go to waste, when people lack quality healthcare delivery.

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