Malaria cases increased at the Kasoa Polyclinic to 13,316 in 2013 compared to 12,676 in 2012 and 4,821 in 2011, the Administrator of the facility, Mr. Abdullah Shardow has said.

He said Acute Respiratory Tract Infection recorded 4802 case at the facility in 2013 against 4,962 in 2012 and 2, 844 in 2011.

Mr. Shardow disclosed this in a presentation at a review performance meeting of the Awutu Senya East Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, organized for health facilities in the Municipality at Kasoa.

He said, during the year under review, a total of 58,335 people visited the facility to seek health care at the Out Patient Department (OPD) against 80,610 in 2012 and 50,658 in 2011, adding that, 33,274 of the figure recorded in 2013 were insured as compared to 51,977 in 2012 and 17,196 in 2011.

Mr. Shardow said the reduction was as a result of all the facilities in the municipally having been credited to attend to patients with the National Health Insurance Card.

According to him 6,240 pregnant women attended ante-natal clinic in the facility of which 2,862 of them were supervised to deliver, adding that, the facility recorded 21 stillbirths and Zero Maternal Mortality in 2013.

He said, the facility has challenges, which include lack of a Gynaecologist and theatre, frequent power cuts, no space for psychosocial and overcrowding at the OPD. He, therefore, urged the authorities to support them address these challenges and help promote health care delivery in the area.

Mr. Patrick Quainoo, one of the team members of the Municipal Health Directorate, who presented the presentation said, records in all the health facilities indicated that a total of 85,092 people visited the facilities in 2013, as against 57,431 in 2012, 55,138 in 2011 and 45,620 in 2010.

He said during the year under review, the directorate received 2,208 pieces of long lasting insecticide nets from the National Malaria Control Programme.

He attributed the high rate of malaria cases in the Municipality to population growth, people not sleeping under mosquito nets and the refusal to observe hygienic and environmental practice.

Mr. Quianoo said other challenges facing the Municipal Directorate were the late submission of reports, lack of enough reporting formats, lack of transportation for effective monitoring and supervision “and coupled with the fact that there’s no analysis done at the facility level.”

He said interventions had been put in place by the directorate to enhance service delivery, such as the training of personnel for the monthly data validation, supportive visits to facilities to help gather data and improvising of report formats.