By Godwill Arthur Mensah
Accra, Feb.1, GNA- -The Bamboi Polyclinic located in the Bole District of the Savannah Region has been awarded Level 4 certification on SafeCare’s quality standards for providing quality health services to its clients.
Level 4 is an international benchmark for quality healthcare delivery and provides a protocol that leverages data solutions, reduces waste and cost, and ultimately increases patronage and profitability.
The feat places the facility at the forefront of healthcare excellence, being the first under the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to escalate from Level 2 to Level 4 within just a year.
Speaking to journalists in Accra at a brief ceremony to present the SafeCare level 4 accreditation, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the GHS, said quality healthcare remains a challenge for all healthcare systems in the world.
“The challenges and the issues to deal with in quality of care gets more serious as you move towards the remote parts of the country like Bamboi,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye pointed out.
The GHS, he said, is adopting the internationally accredited SafeCare quality improvement standards in the quest to ensure the quality of healthcare across the country.
That, he said, must be a cross-cutting system that must permeate all the care delivered in the facilities, including the management systems.
Dr Kuma Aboagye was impressed with SafeCare’s methodology and how its adoption could accelerate the quality improvement journey the GHS is working towards.
“I am confident that we can adapt the SafeCare standards to the Ghanaian situation and context and improve the quality of care in Ghana’s healthcare delivery system,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye emphasised.
The D-G of the GHS lauded the Bamboi Polyclinic team’s resilience and commitment to achieving SafeCare’s quality standards, noting that such improvements were crucial for ensuring consistency in high-quality care and attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Ms Bonifacia Benefo Agyei, the Country’s Director for SafeCare, explained that SafeCare Level 4 ensured that patients at Bamboi Polyclinic received uniform, consistent, and high-standard care, significantly lowering risk and promoting quality.
“This milestone is a testament to the clinic’s adherence to strict protocols and procedures, leveraging data to identify and address gaps in care delivery.
“This award not only marks a leap in healthcare management but also sets a precedent for other facilities to follow, showcasing the potential for substantial improvement in healthcare quality across Ghana,” She added.
Ms Benefo Agyei noted that for the healthcare managers, and health policymakers, the improvement in the quality of care and reduction of risks that came with the SafeCare Level 4 facilities would reduce waste, and cost and ultimately increase patronage and profitability.
“Bamboi did this in one year, they moved from Level 2 to Level 4. So, among Polyclinics, this one at Bamboi stands out in Ghana,” she added.
Ms Benefo Agyei challenged other healthcare facilities in the country to be inspired by the successes chalked by the Bamboi Polyclinic and push higher to improve the quality of care delivered through the SafeCare methodology.
Dr Boi Vituse Vikpenoba, the acting Medical Superintendent of the Bamboi Polyclinic, stated that the SafeCare quality improvement programme had impacted the operation and management of the hospital positively and improved health outcomes for patients.
“They gave us a lot of guidelines and action plans, we developed a lot of protocols with monitoring and evaluation and after that, we have seen a lot of improvements in attendance in the facility,” he said.
Dr Vikpenoba said: “At the theatre, the wards, the pharmacy, and even at the OPD we see a lot of improvements.”
On the actual actions that led to the attainment of the feat by the health facility, Mr Kennedy Kuredoh, the Quality Improvement Focal Person, said a seven-member team was set up by the management of the facility to review the performance of the team, and assigned the quality improvement tasks to the team.
“The team consistently monitors the SafeCare App to appreciate where the gaps are and it guides the teams to address those gaps,” he explained.
PharmAccess Foundation and SafeCare’s ambition is to make inclusive health markets work in sub-Saharan Africa, realising that the first wealth is health.
It partners with both private and public health facilities to bring about holistic transformation in failing health markets.
It focuses on the very root causes that hamper healthcare financing and investments towards equitable and quality healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa.
It works as an innovator and catalyst for pragmatic solutions that can be adopted, adapted, and scaled by partners. And setting and improving quality standards in these challenging environments is the central mission of SafeCare.
The ambition of SafeCare is to create a global platform of organisations and people willing to pursue innovative approaches to improve clinical quality, using transformative digital solutions to challenge the status quo and strengthen trust in the healthcare system.
It intends to create the greatest possible impact with minimal resources.
GNA