Three health zonal teams formed
Three zonal National Rapid Response Teams have been constituted to act as frontliners in case of the outbreak of Ebola and other health emergencies that may plague the country.
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The three groups were formed yesterday during a meeting organised by the Institutional Care Department (ICD) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and which was attended by health workers from the various regions that were part of a volunteer group that was in Liberia and Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis in those countries.
According to Dr Samuel Kaba, the Director of ICD, the Ebola volunteers, numbering 42, had gained so much experience during their time on the field in Liberia and Sierra Leone that they had become assets for the nation and would step up the country’s preparedness for Ebola and health emergencies.
Why national team?
“The simple fact that you have a group of young people who have experience, they have done it before, they have returned to the country; the best you can do is to have them to form the frontliners to also promote more confidence in the society, that should there be any unlikely event of Ebola or any highly contagious disease, you have a group of people who will be willing to move in while you prepare your health staff,” Dr Kaba said.
He explained that the meeting was called to constitute zonal teams for the experienced field workers, for the northern, middle and southern portions of the country, so that they would play the leading role in case management and surveillance during health emergencies.
Dr Kaba said the country already had rapid response teams in all the 10 regions and that all the 42 volunteers were members of the regional teams.
He explained that the new zonal teams were meant to beef up the country’s response to emergencies, by putting in front those who could mobilise almost immediately because they had already worked together as a team and had been tried and tested during an emergency.
“These people have been recognised by the country with national honours. They are now assets to the nation. We should maximise their experience, we should maximise whatever knowledge they have in that field,” he stressed.
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Team composition
The 42 Ebola volunteers comprise doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, laboratory technicians and clinical psychologists who would be engaged in at least two simulation exercises each year to keep them prepared for any eventuality.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Victor Bampoh, commended the volunteers for putting their lives at risk for the cause of humanity in Liberia and Sierra Leone and Dr Kaba for demonstrating extraordinary leadership.
He said the National Rapid Response Team was essential to assure the government and the people of Ghana of the country’s readiness for any emergency.
A Technical Advisor at the Emergency Operations Centre who chaired the meeting, Mr Robert deGraft Kwame Agyarko, said, “Given the recent challenges in the sub-region and Ghana in respect of Ebola, influenza, cholera and others, the country is preparing itself to move from single-purpose response to public health emergencies, to an all-inclusive all-hazards approach.”
He noted that the integration would help in consolidating the gains made in the systems, impact on the effectiveness in responding to public health emergencies and also limit duplication of efforts.