The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has inaugurated a Steering Committee to align the country’s health sector with the government’s 24-hour Economy policy to strengthen healthcare delivery around the clock.
The policy is aimed at boosting productivity by encouraging key areas such as health care to operate beyond the traditional working hours of 8 a.m. to 5p.m.
The alignment, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea said, would ensure that citizens accessed essential health services at any time of day or night, regardless of location.
Members
The 10-member committee, which is chaired by the Director-General himself, is also expected to provide strategic oversight and policy direction to guide the health sector’s transition into a 24-hour service model.
It would also facilitate coordination across agencies and departments to ensure a seamless and effective rollout.
Other members of the committee are Sylvester Bekyur Ziniel, Joseph Kofi Adusei, Nicholas Nyablomu, Dr Oliver Commey, and Dr Samuel Boakye Boateng.
The rest are Dr Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, Mustapha Hamidu and Kingsford Cudjoe.
Significance
At the inauguration of the committee in Accra yesterday, Prof. Akoriyea emphasised the need for health care to evolve to meet the realities of everyday life.
“Illness does not wait for morning. Emergencies do not observe office hours. A mother in labour cannot afford to wait until the next day,” he said.
Prof. Akoriyea, therefore, stressed the need to remove barriers that prevented timely access to care.
“If a Ghanaian must call a minister, the Director-General, or know someone before receiving medical attention at night, then we have failed.
“Every citizen deserves quality care at any hour, without exception,” he said.
The D-G further announced that beginning this month, the GHS will roll out Basic Life Support (BLS) training in all health facilities across the country to empower frontline staff with essential life-saving skills.
Policy rationale
Dr Ebenezer Oduro-Mensah of the Clinical Services Department, GHS, also said the move was necessary if Ghana wanted to build a responsive and inclusive health system.
“We cannot operate a system that shuts down when people need it most. Our people should not have to depend on personal connections to access health care at night,” he added.
Dr Oduro-Mensah also said that the health sector’s alignment with the 24-hour Economy policy would support the country’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage and contribute to better health outcomes through strengthened emergency response, extended service hours, and a more efficient workforce.
“We are not creating a new structure.
We are making the current one work better.
That means training, technology, and a mindset shift,” he said.
