Sunyani (B/A), Oct. 07, GNA - The Ghana Medical Assistants' Association has appealed to the government to provide all health centres accredited to the health insurance scheme with a health insurance education infrastructure.

In a communiqu=E9 issued at the end of its fifth annual general meeting in Sunyani, the association said members lacked the necessary logistics to sensitise and educate the people about the scheme, particularly, in the rural areas.

The communiqu=E9, signed by its national president, Mr Ralph D. Dagoe, the association stressed the need for periphery health infrastructure development and the replacement of obsolete equipment to enhance quality health care delivery.

"As one of the patriotic cadres of health workers in the country, taking care of the needs of about 70 per cent of rural dwellers, we resolve that, inputs should be made available at all health institutions at the periphery to meet accreditation standards set by the accreditation board", the association said.

The Association called for the establishment of more medical assistant training schools to train more of such specialists to augment the few in the system and the institution of enhancement courses for existing medical assistants within and outside the country to update their professional skills.

It also stressed the need to regulate the practice of medical assistants to enable them to withstand the challenges of medico legal issues.

The association noted that medical assistants were currently regulated under the nurses and mid-wife council instead of the medical and dental council, "since our position is almost similar to medical doctors".

They called on the Ghana Health Service to expedite action on financial decentralization at the sub-district level, noting that, "sub-districts are supposed to be autonomous but their finances are being managed at the district level". 7 Oct. 06