The Director-General, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea (DG) has engaged leaders of key health sector unions as part of preparations towards the rollout of the Free Primary Healthcare initiative.
The meeting provided an opportunity to review progress made so far, discuss workforce deployment, and address implementation arrangements ahead of the rollout.
The DG appealed to the various unions to support the initiative and help ensure its successful implementation. He emphasised that the success of the Free Primary Healthcare programme would require the collective efforts of all stakeholders, particularly health workers at the frontline.
“We can’t do it alone. We need your support to make it work,” he said.
The DG also briefed the union leaders on the human resource capacity that has been built over the past weeks in preparation for the rollout. He urged the unions to engage their members and encourage them to be customer-conscious, professional, and empathetic in their interactions with patients.
He stressed that beyond providing healthcare, the attitude and conduct of health workers would be critical to building public confidence in the Free Primary Healthcare initiative.
The unions engaged included the leaders of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Medical Laboratory Association, Medical Superintendents Association, Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professionals, Ghana Hospital Pharmacists Association, and the Health Services Workers’ Union.
The engagement forms part of ongoing stakeholder consultations to strengthen coordination, workforce readiness, and effective implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare programme. Present at the meeting was the Deputy Director General, Dr. Caroline Reindorf Amissah; the Director, PPMED, Dr. Samuel Boakye Boateng and Dr. Salamatu Attah- Nangtoma, Dep. Director, IME, and the Free Primary Heathcare Cordinator for the Service as well as other other directors of the Service, Dr. Lawrence Ofori Boadu, Director, Institutional Care Division and Dr. Kennedy T .C Brightson, Director, Family Health Division.