The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has initiated moves to train all staff in basic emergency care and selected staff on comprehensive emergency care.
The initiative aims to strengthen emergency response capacity across all levels of the health system. It will also ensure that every facility, from CHPS compounds to regional hospitals, is equipped with personnel capable of providing effective, timely, life-saving interventions.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the training of trainers for the first regional cohort, the Acting Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, underscored the importance of this training. These skills, according to him, are essential in building a strong emergency care network.
The first cohort of regional trainers brought together participants from the Central, Bono, Bono East, North East, and Greater Accra Regions. The Bono Region was represented by Dr. Philip Taah-Amoako, Surgeon and Medical Superintendent of Tain District Hospital; Mrs. Sandra Sabi-Konadu, Emergency Nurse; and Mrs. Ellen Twenewaa Boamah, Critical Care Nurse, both of the Sunyani Municipal Hospital.
Dr. Akoriyea stressed that every health worker, both clinical and non-clinical, must have some training in basic emergency care techniques. These include skills in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), management of choking, and difficulty in breathing. This, he explained, is because the increasing demand for care requires a proactive approach that places readiness and responsiveness at the heart of healthcare delivery.
The Director of the Institutional Care Division of the Service, Dr. Lawrence Ofori Boadu, indicated that three trainers will be trained from each region and four from the Greater Accra Region. These trainers were drawn across specialties to ensure a broad base of expertise.
A total of 104 health professionals had been trained as of the first week of November under the program — 52 at the GHS Headquarters and 52 under the first regional cohort.
Participants were certified as trainers in primary emergency care and providers of comprehensive emergency care. The GHS hopes to expand the initiative to cover all health facilities and key agencies involved in healthcare delivery nationwide.
Plans are also underway to collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to integrate basic emergency care into school health programs and extend the training to communities.
These efforts will ensure that emergencies are effectively managed right from the point of occurrence to the highest level of care.
Credit :
GHS PR Department/TDH IT Team