The Ministry of Health (MOH) is to equip doctors at the district and regional levels with practical skills to handle delicate cases.

Opening this year's Annual General and Scientific Meeting of the West African College of Physicians (WACP) Ghana chapter yesterday in Accra, the outgoing Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Anane said the health priority of the country is to develop the human resource capacity.

In this regard, MOH in a five year programme of work would focus on rehabilitating the physical infrastructure of teaching and regional hospitals and institute formal and in-service training schemes for clinical and management staff.

"We need to put in place training schemes that turn out middle level personnel with relevant skills without having to wait for more than two or three years. We believe that this is the best way we can meet our needs in this area as a country."

The WACP, which was inaugurated in 1976 by the Anglophone West African states aims at facilitating health delivery and promoting professional training of medical practitioners in West Africa. This year, the physicians looked at hypertension and its complications with the incoming Minister of Health, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie as well as Fellows of the College and some personnel of the Ministry of Health in attendance.

Dr. Richard Anane decried the rate at which epidemics plague developing countries adding that the case is worsened by the fact we have to contend with large numbers of infections caused mainly by poverty and ignorance.

The minister urged the physicians to find solutions to some of the constraints, which impede the ultimate use of existing structures and facilities and means to develop capacity within the health sector.

On moves to solve some of the peculiar problems in the health sector in the West African sub region, Dr. Anane said, existing facilities such as the Cardio-Thoracic Unit, the Radio Therapy Unit and others could be developed to serve the whole of West Africa to harmonize regional resources.

The Secretary General of the WACP, Dr. Yao Tettey appealed to the MOH to take urgent steps to staff the newly built and well-equipped regional and district hospitals to curb the exodus of doctors to the teaching hospitals for residency training. He said the college accredits hospitals for postgraduate training based on those conditions.

The advantage of this, he observed, would prompt doctors to remain in their centres to render service.