Presby Church to build more Health Training Schools

The Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Dr Samuel Ayete-Nyampong, has said that the church will continue to build more health training institutions to train more health professionals.

He said it was for that reason that the church had decided to convert all its vocational training centres into health training institutions.

He said the health coordinating unit of the church, with support of the committee on health and environment, had been charged to accomplish this task by 2020.

Rev. Dr Ayete-Nyampong said this when he opened the 21st annual performance review meeting of the Presbyterian Health Services at Abokobi in the Ga East District in the Greater Accra Region.

He reiterated the church’s commitment to promote quality healthcare delivery to ensure productivity.

Rev. Dr Ayete-Nyampong said over the years the Presbyterian Church of Ghana had extended the delivery of quality health care to almost every corner of the country, adding that it would continue to provide both logistic and infrastructure support for its health facilities.

Vocational institute

Rev. Dr Ayete-Nyampong said last year the church handed over the Duayaw-Nkwanta Girls Vocational Institute to the health unit of the church to convert it into a midwifery training school. 

He said the process had already begun, with the first batch of students expected to be admitted in the 2016/2017 academic year, adding that the vision of the church in the health sector was to serve the poor through the provision of holistic, affordable and quality health service in fulfilment of Christ’s mandate “to go and heal the sick and tell them about the Kingdom of God.”

Rev. Ayete-Nyampong said the church would continue to be a key player in health service delivery in the country.

Health facilities

He said currently the church had 51 health facilities made up of four district/municipal hospitals, one regional eye clinic, nine primary healthcare outreach centres, 31 health centres and clinics, one nursing and midwifery training school, one nurses training college, a midwifery training school, a health technical maintenance unit and two community-based rehabilitation centres, making it the third largest provider of health services in the country.

Rev. Dr Ayete-Nyampong said without doubt the government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of developing the health sector. He, therefore, gave the assurance that the church was prepared to continue partnering the government in its development efforts.

NHIS indebtedness

The Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Ghana, (CHAG),  Mr Peter Kwame Yeboah, expressed concern about the National Health Insurance Authority’s (NHIA) indebtedness to the health institutions, which was making it difficult for them to perform some of their activities effectively.

He said the CHAG leadership and the churches would continue to engage the government to resolve this important national issue.

Mr Yeboah commended the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for its contributions to health delivery in Ghana.

Source: Graphic Online