Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, has intimated that, the refusal of people with medical conditions aside coronavirus, to attend hospital poses a risk factor to the health of the citizens in the country.
Speaking at a meeting to discuss the roles of stakeholders in the health sector on the issue, he said, the refusal to attend these medical facilities could have a dire consequence on the health of the population if the trend was not halted.
He then noted that, various hospitals across the country is safe for usage and has called on and urged the public not to fear to seek medical care in various health facilities across the country because of the fear of contracting COVID-19.
Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang, who made the call, said data available to the Regional Health Directorate (RHD) showed a reduction in health indicators, which could be attributed to the outbreak of coronavirus.
He then said, the reduction in Out Patients Department (OPD) and other critical services such as immunization and antenatal care was worrying and stressed the need for all stakeholders to put their shoulders to the wheel to reverse the trend.
He then made an appeal to the stakeholders present to begin to discuss how to address this issue as stakeholders, to improve access to services in the various health facilities.
He also expressed discontent on the glaring disregard for the safety protocols in public places and cautioned that the fight against the virus was not over since there were still active cases in Ghana.
His concerns comes on the back of a finding by the Ghana Health service(GHS) which revealed that, Ghanaians are continuously disregarding the COVID-19 safety protocols put in place to combat the disease.
It was reported that, the acts were dangerous and if not checked would erode the country’s efforts at eradicating the pandemic.
The survey conducted by the GHS within the Greater Accra Region also revealed that only 14 per cent of Ghanaians wore the face masks.
Madam Juana Ansong, a Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) also speaking at the gathering said, the meeting was critical because it is part of efforts to increase OPD attendance amid COVID-19 and urged the participants to effectively play their roles to address the problem.
She further noted that, if care was not taken, the mortality rate of other disease conditions could increase if people continued to stay away from health facilities because of COVID-19.
The participants pledged their commitment to support the campaign to eliminate the fear factor among the populace to improve hospital attendance.
The meeting which was organised by the Regional Health Directorate (RHD) with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) sought to engage stakeholders to step up public education on the need for people to access healthcare without any fear.
It was attended by representatives from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Information Service Department (ISD), Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), Non-Governmental Organisation in Health, the clergy and the media.
