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Western Region Health Directorate holds 2023 annual performance review

The Western Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has organised its 2023 Annual Performance Review conference to take stock of activities, programmes and interventions for last year.

Date Created : 3/21/2024 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Emmanuel Gamson/Ghanadistricts.com

The review conference, held in Takoradi, was on the theme: “Building a resilient health care system through effective implementation of networks of practice.”

It brought together the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Health, some healthcare facility managers, health workers and representatives from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), among other partners.

The two-day conference provided a platform for participants to discuss and measure achievements and challenges against set goals during the year under review, and devise strategies to improve upon performances for 2024 and beyond.

Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah, the Western Regional Director of the GHS, speaking at the opening of the conference said the performance review was for the Directorate to give an account of its stewardship in 2023 in terms of achievements, challenges and prospects for the provision of healthcare services in the region.

On some of the activities carried out last year, he mentioned that various clinical services, public health interventions and health infrastructural projects as well as effective health commodity management were executed at all levels from the community to the regional Hospital.

Touching on some of the achievements for the year under review, he stated that through the collective efforts of health staff, institutional maternal mortality ratio declined for about 30 per cent from 119/100,000LBs in 2021 to 84/100,000 LBs in 2023 in the region.

Dr. Yeboah said: “The region also recorded an institutional neonatal mortality rate of four deaths per 1000 LBs. This is the lowest recorded death rate for the neonates in the region for seven years.”

According to him, the region also excelled in tuberculosis (TB) management, where death rate was almost halved between 2022 and 2023, and case notification rate recorded last year was the highest in ten years.

“Our exceptional achievements in TB management in 2023 have been recognized at the national level. Through the hardwork of our team, the region was adjudged the best overall in the country for the management of TB cases.

“We also won awards for best region in TB case notification, and best region in TB preventive therapy and contact tracing. Additionally, the region was given a citation for effective mobilization of resources for TB activities,” he noted.

Dr. Yeboah, therefore, commended the gallant staff whose efforts had contributed significantly to the success chalked over the years.

He said: “The various cadres of health staff operating from 683 public facilities and 15 Directorates in the region sacrificed, innovated, and exhibited resilience to provide a wide range of services to improve the health of the people. “We say kudos to them.”

On challenges, the Western Regional Director of the GHS mentioned the inadequate clinical and non-clinical staff such as auditors and accountants, staff accommodation, land encroachment, and constant threat of disconnection from the national electricity grid as some of the challenges facing the Directorate.

“However, we are doing our best at all levels to mitigate these challenges, but we also need the support of our stakeholders to address some of these issues,” he added.

Dr. Yeboah, touching on some prospects for the future, said to sustain the gains in their efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, a proposed Regional Maternal and Neonatal Centre would commence operations by middle of the year.

The Centre, he added, would be a hub for refreshing the skills of serving officers from all parts of the region.

Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye, the Director-General of the GHS, in a speech read on his behalf saluted the regional health staff for their efforts in healthcare service delivery despite the challenges they went through.

“Our core mandate as a service still remains the same, and it is to provide and prudently manage comprehensive and accessible health services, with special emphasis on primary health care in accordance with approved policies of the Ministry of Health,” he said.