Sekyere West recorded seven maternal deaths last year

Mampong(Ash), Feb.01, GNA - The Sekyere West District in Ashanti recorded seven deaths resulting from pregnancy and child-birth related complications last year.

The complications topped the list of admissions at the Mampong Hospital and second to malaria of health problems reported at the Out Patient Department.

Dr Emmanuel Ahiable, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, announced this when addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Mampong-Asante Traditional Area at Mampong-Ashanti. He noted that in this era of improvement in public health, medical services and technology, childbirth should be safer for all women. Dr Ahiable, however, regretted that many women would continue to die in the communities every year from causes that could be avoided through simple remedies.

He called on the chiefs to encourage women to patronise antenatal care services available at health facilities for early detection and treatment of some of the complications.

Mrs Rebecca Dokurugu, Sekyere West District Director of Health Services, said it was a major priority of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to ensure women received skilled care at delivery. She said this could only be possible when chiefs support the Government to provide functioning health and transportation systems to ensure health professionals managed normal deliveries and refer complications for appropriate care.

Mrs Dokurugu called on the chiefs to show keen interest in the efficient and effective management of health facilities within their communities and encourage the people especially men to use health care facilities.

She said chiefs and their elders could work with the GHS to make child delivery very safe by assessing local conditions and resources to make the local health facilities work efficiently. Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, Mamponghene gave the assurance that the Traditional Council would lend its support to activities of the District Health Management Team (DHMT) to improve on the health needs of the people.

He said the council would foster closer partnership with stakeholders to ensure better health care delivery for the people.