The Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Physician Assistant Association (GPAA), Peter Ayamba has lamented that low investment by successive governments has deteriorated the health sector, especially in the Upper East Region.
According to Mr Ayamba, successive governments have only paid lip service to improve the health facilities including health professionals in the country hence the results, “we are having today”.
Speaking at a health stakeholder engagement organised by A1 Radio, the Chairman noted that GPAA members in rural areas have not seen the needed improvement either towards personal career development or the development of the facilities they work in.
“How do you expect to attain universal health care when successive governments have failed to build the capacity of Physician Assistants in rural communities that do not have Medical Doctors to improve healthcare delivery. This and others are some of the reasons we are at where we are.”
He stressed that “…improving the capacity of these Physician Assistants, we are not saying that buy cars or build houses for us, but equipping us with the necessary support documents that can aid us to conduct minor surgeries to ease pressure on patients and also save timely situations.”
Touching on some of the issues that still confront them as Physician Assistants in the country, Mr Ayamba said since 2019, the government has failed to employ those who have graduated from school. He estimated that there would be a total of about 800 unemployed Physician Assistants.
“Aside from protocol employment, from 2019 till date, no employment has been made to any of our members. Meanwhile, in the rural areas, some health facilities don’t even have adequate nurses neither talking of doctors. So tell me, how can we achieve the universal health care that we are seeking?”
He however called on the government, to as a matter of urgency, employ and deploy these health professionals to help improve health delivery.
The forum aimed at bringing stakeholders in health in the Upper East Region together to find lasting solutions to the pressing challenges in the health sector.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Moses Apiah|Bolgatanga|Ghana
