Health Minister starts Ashanti Regional tour

The Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has begun a four-day working visit to the Ashanti Region. The visit will enable the Minister acquaint himself with the health system in the regain, interact with staff in the health sector and listen to issues to inform the Ministry’s policy direction.
The Health Minister’s first port of call was the Office of Regional Coordination Council (RCC), where he called on the Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah. Hon. Osei-Mensah in his welcome statement thanked the Minister for the visit.
Hon. Agyeman-Manu was grateful to the Regional Minister for the warm reception accorded his delegation. He threw light on his itinerary, which included a visit to health facilities, meet health sector staff, learn about their problems, motivate them, learn about how service is delivered in the Region, the gaps, and how the Ministry can plan and fix the challenges.
His next port of call was the Regional Medical Stores, where he was welcomed by an Assistant Pharmacist to the Store Manager, Ms Marian Osei-Amoasi. She disclosed that Regional Medical Stores has been producing paracetamol and cough syrup for the public health facilities in the region.
The Minister on his part commended the staff for their hard work and revealed that his Ministry will not expand the infrastructure at the Regional Medical Store but will instead build hubs close to health facilities for the distribution of medical supplies.
The Health Minister continued his tour to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, where he visited the Accidents and Emergency Centre, the Oncology Department, the new oxygen plant, the MRI Centre and the Kumasi Nursing Training College (NTC).
Welcoming the Health Minister, the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Dr Oheneba Owusu-Danso, said the sector Minister’s visit was aimed at interacting with staff and patients at the hospital.
Hon. Agyeman-Manu said his regional visit was to interact with the entire health system., adding “I believe by the end of the tour, we might find gaps that we need to fix, suggestions will come that we have to pick on board, things that will push us to look for resources to do very quickly”.
At the NTC, Hon. Agyeman-Manu, assured the trainee nurses that the Ministry will soon pay the remaining three month allowances. He explained that all the problems in the health sector cannot be solved within a day. “The population is getting larger, therefore the need to expand all facilities, work hard to mobilise domestic resources”, he added.
The Health Minister, then paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, at the Manhyia Palace. Hon. Agyeman-Manu and his delegation then visited Suntreso, Tafo and Manhyia Government Hospitals, and ended the first day tour at the Regional Health Directorate where he met staff.