Donkokrom (E/R), April 26, GNA - The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Prof. Agyemang Badu-Akosa, has announced that promotion in the GHS had been decentralised to ensure that interviews for promotion were conducted at the regional level to enhance regular promotion of health personnel in the Service.

He, therefore, urged all health personnel who are due for promotion to apply to the appropriate quarters for interview and not wait for the authorities to write to them before proceeding for promotional interview.

Prof. Badu-Akosa was addressing the management and staff of the Presbyterian Hospital at Donkorkrom in the Afram Plains district as part of his five-day tour of some health institutions in the Eastern Region. He said the GHS has put a number of measures in place to motivate health personnel to check their leaving the Service for greener pastures abroad and also for them to accept postings to deprived areas where their services are mostly needed.

The Director General mentioned some of the measures as provision of means of transport including motor-bikes to personnel on hire-purchase, sending of qualified health personnel aboard to upgrade their knowledge and free accommodation for personnel in deprived areas and a housing scheme for all personnel in the Service.

He said personnel in deprived areas would be given priority to benefit from the measures before other personnel. Prof Badu-Akosa urged all health personnel of the GHS to educate the people on the Health Insurance Scheme for them to register and contribute to sustain it, since that was the only affordable, sustainable and effective health delivery system to enhance the health needs of the people in the country.

The Eastern Director of GHS, Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, advised them to consider the government's huge investment in the health sector and work hard to improve the health needs of the people. Dr Clement Oppong, Medical Officer In-charge of the hospital who conducted the Director General round the various departments, complained about the inability of most people in the area to pay their medical bills for effective health delivery.

The Administrator of the hospital, Mr Fred Effah-Yeboah, appealed for the completion of a maternity block complex, of which work had been suspended for two years, the construction of a mortuary and the provision of an ambulance to rescue patients in the rural areas and for referral of cases.