Ashanti Reg. Executives of HSWU
THE HEALTH Services Workers Union (HSWU) of Trade Union Congress-Ghana (TUC-Ghana) has called on the government to provide the needed equipment at health facilities to enable them work effectively.
According to the group, the major challenge in the health service delivery in the country is not about conditions of service but equipment to work with.
Speaking at a recent Ashanti Regional delegates’ conference, Brother Franklin Owusu Ansah, General Secretary of HSWU said they lacked some basic equipment and consumables to work with.
He, however, stressed that, “We know that one major challenge with the government is funding, and that is how come some of these equipment have not been fixed after they broke down.”
This notwithstanding, Brother Owusu Ansah observed that poor maintenance culture has contributed to the lack of equipment and consumables in health facilities.
“If the urban areas are having challenges, then it is worse in the rural areas and that is how come some workers do not want to go when posted to such areas,” he explained, adding that, “some regions do not have medical doctors while others have few and this is because facilities in the rural areas do not exist,” he said.
“Workers are supposed to provide their services and government is also supposed to make sure they have the infrastructure and equipment to work with. If all these things are absent and you inform your employer over and over, at a point in time you get fed up”, he lamented.
The HSWU General Secretary commended all health workers especially members of HSWU for the services they give to the citizenry, urging them to remain calm and continue to work for mother Ghana.
Ashanti Regional chairman who was re-elected unopposed, Brother Emmanuel Gyamfi Osei, in an interview with the DAILY GUIDE, also pleaded with facility heads to provide the logistics needed by the workers including their 13th month salary which is in their Collective Agreement (CA).
He applauded the national leadership of HSWU for being on top of issues, stating that even though there have been a huge improvement in the health sector after various engagements, there is still a lot to be done to boost health care delivery in the country.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi