By Erica Apeatua Addo
Mahamo (W/R), Sept 29, GNA-The Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Health Directorate has dismissed allegations of withholding midwives from the Mahamo Community as claimed by the chief, Nana Kwabena Gyan.
A source from the health directorate told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that Mahamo had an existing Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound that was operating under the Ghana Health Service, and it was part of the Benso network.
It said they had two midwives at Benso health centre, and for the past two years, one of them had been going to the Mahamo CHPS compound on weekly basis to provide antenatal care services.
According to the source, the arrangement was made by the Municipal Health Directorate to support the people of Mahamo and to ensure that they received the services of the hard-working midwives at Benso.
When it was time for pregnant women to deliver, they booked them and ensured they delivered safely, and since that arrangement was factored in , there had not been any problem, the source explained.
It added that on the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly’s medium-term plan, they had planned to construct a standard maternity unit for the Mahamo CHPS compound because they saw the need.
However, the directorate worked with standards, so usually, once a facility was in their plan, arrangements were made in the year it would be constructed.
Information gathered by the GNA indicated that, the place where the chief had constructed the maternity block was within the directorate’s CHPS compound and that he needed a permanent midwife to be stationed there.
The GNA further gathered that the Chief only told the staff at the CHPS compound that he was undertaking an expansion of the facility without talking about getting a permanent midwife to manage the facility.
The chief did not also discuss with the health directorate on getting a permanent midwife to manage the maternity block he had constructed within the CHPS compound.
The Municipal Health Directorate only became aware of the project when they were invited for the commissioning ceremony, and since then the chief had resorted to social media to get a permanent midwife posted to the place.
GNA
Edited by Justina Hilda Paaga /Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter Erica Apeatua Addo