Winneba (C/R), Oct. 15, GNA - The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Samuel Owusu-Adjei, on Saturday called for the protection of human asset from injury and diseases especially during festive occasions.

"This human asset should also be maintained in a state of optimum health for maximum productivity which is the basis for economic development," Mr Owusu-Adjei stated when he handed over the keys of an ambulance to the Winneba Government Hospital at the weekend. The Deputy Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency, said the occupational health situation world-wide was disheartening and that deaths and casualties at workplaces kept soaring, especially in developing countries. He said with more than 200,000 killed and 120 million injured worldwide each year, the World Health Report likened these figures to casualties of a major war. Mr Owusu-Adjei urged all stakeholders of enterprises, organisations and government establishments not to relent in their efforts at ensuring that they maintain a healthy, safe and conducive environment for workers. "The question of health and safety in the workplace is

one which cannot be left entirely in the hands of private

employers; all stakeholders including government,

employers, workers, as well as, workers' unions have very

important roles to play," he added. The Deputy Minister also called on the public and private

sectors of health to devise more practical strategies to close

the gap between them, stressing that rapid population

growth, coupled with the desire for the country to become a

middle-income nation, make it imperative for the private and

public sectors to act in concert to expand health services to

the people. It is only through such collective efforts that Ghanaians

could have equal access to facilities in both sectors and thus

improve their health status, he added.

Mr Owusu-Adjei said the presentation of the ambulance was in accordance with the Ghana Health Service Ambulance system to improve emergency response and further increase access to health care. The Deputy Minister said it was the aim of the

government to provide each municipal and district hospital

with an ambulance and tasked the District Assembly to

effectively collaborate with district hospitals to run the

ambulance service for the benefit of the people.

Mr Owusu-Adjei emphasised that the ambulances were not meant to convey corpses but rather sick people, including victims of road accidents and transfer of patients from one medical facility to the other, among others. He cautioned against using the ambulance to generate

internal revenue and urged them to maintain it well to

ensure its longevity. Dr G. K. Morrison, District Director of Ghana Health

Service and Dr H.O France, Medical Superintendent

in-charge of the Winneba Hospital received the keys and

thanked the government for the donation, which they

noted, would improve health care within the catchments.