Sandema (U/E), Feb. 20, GNA – The Builsa North Municipal Assembly in the Upper East Region says it will soon evict retired government personnel occupying government quarters to make available space for newly posted staff.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Madam Vida Akatagriwen Anaab, said some retired personnel still occupied government bungalows, while newly posted staff to the Municipality struggled for accommodation.
“Some people are on retirement and still occupying most of the Low Cost Quarters. We are planning to take action,” Madam Anaab said at the 2021 health performance review meeting organised at the instance of the Municipal Health Directorate.
The intended initiative by the Assembly was part of its special packages as a Municipality to attract and retain health staff in the area, as accommodation challenge was one of the reasons identified by health authorities for the refusal of critical health staff to the Region.
Madam Anaab said despite the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic, health professionals in the area worked tirelessly to check the spread of the virus.
“I want to say well done to all of you. You have really worked to uplift the image of Builsa North. Let’s continue to work to regain our enviable position, as the Municipality with the best Hospital,” she said.
The MCE, also a retired Midwife, said “Health is the energy of the economy,” and used the opportunity to call on health staff in the area to take their job seriously to save lives, urged them to continue to work diligently to improve on quality health delivery in the area.
Madam Anaab encouraged the health professionals, especially midwives, to pay critical attention to the aspect of ‘home visit’ to their clients, saying that clients were usually happy to see midwives visit them in their homes, and were comfortable to discuss their health issues with them.
She stressed on the need for nurses, especially at the various Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) to strengthen health education in the early hours of the morning when they often received many clients.
Madam Anaab suggested to the Health Directorate, to take advantage of the community radio station in Sandema to sensitise members of the public on basic health information and procedures in the Sandema Hospital to keep residents well informed and abreast with procedures in the Hospital.
She noted that the work of health personnel in service delivery was tedious and pledged the Assembly’s support to create the enabling environment for health staff to deliver services to residents, emphasising that “Your concerns are the concerns of the Assembly.”
Madam Juliana Akugre Anam-Erime, the Municipal Health Director said there were 40 functional Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds spread across the area with just 15 out of the number rendering services.
“It means, 25 of the CHPS zones are using what is not appropriate for CHPS. If we are able to get at least two CHPS compounds constructed every year, we will make progress,” she said.
Madam Anam-Erime said there were several uncompleted CHPS compound structures at various levels of construction across the Municipality which needed to be urgently completed, while several of the existing ones were without electricity and staff accommodation.
She, therefore, appealed to the Government to intervene to complete the structures to improve the CHPS concept and augment the services of Health Centres and the main Hospital.
GNA