By Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Takoradi, Nov. 19, GNA – The government has been called upon to invest in existing Health Training Institutions (HTIs) rather than building new ones.
“Instead of establishing more health training schools… the existing HTIs have the capacity to train the right skills and numbers if properly resourced and nurtured.”
Madam Margaret Mary Alacoque Dapilah, President of Conference of Heads of Health Training Institutions (COHHETI) said this at the 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and scientific session of СОННЕТІ.
The HTIs needed budget allocations, infrastructural development, Vehicles, and total upgrading to catch up with the evolving trends in health.
The conference was under the theme: Evolving Trends in Health: The Role of Health Training Institutions
HTls are the gateway to achieving universal health coverage because their products take health to the community and all levels of healthcare.
The COHHETI was established in 2006 as a forum for discussions on matters affecting the organization and administration of HTIS..
It comprises Principals and Directors of 92 Health Training Institutions that train professional nurses, midwives, and allied health staff.
Over 70 percent of the human resource for health development are trained by the 92 HTIs; Nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals who were involved in health promotion and preventive care services, curative care, specialized care, and rehabilitative care.
Madam Dapilah noted that the healthcare needs had evolved, especially with the triple disease burden of communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDS), injuries, and trauma.
Meanwhile, hospitals have embraced technology in healthcare delivery, enhancing patient care and treatment processes.
Therefore, HTIs must evolve in the training of nurses and allied health professionals to match the triple disease burden and the technological wave.
She added that the 5th industrial revolution presented challenges but also remarkable opportunities to reshape the training of the next generation of healthcare professionals…. “There is a yearning need to revamp the institutions that produce over 70 percent of human resource for health development.”
Nana Kobena Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area who chaired the programme urged them to uphold their greatest responsibility of preserving lives.
He said the Group must leverage technology to turn out quality professionals that were human centred in delivery care services.
GNA