Winneba (C/R), Jan. 30, GNA - Fourteen health workers in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District of the Central Region were last Friday honoured by the management of the District Directorate of the Ghana Health Services (GHS) for their outstanding performance at Winneba on Friday.

Gifts presented to the deserving employees included, suitcases and other items.

The ceremony formed part of an end-of-year party organized by the District Directorate of Health Services to entertain and inspire health employees in the district to work hard to promote quality health delivery service.

Among the beneficiaries were, Miss Monica Effinah and Miss Mary Boateng, both of the Awutu-Bawjiase Health Centre, Miss Helena Acquah and Miss Juliana Sackey of the Senya-Beraku Health Centre, Miss Comfort Eghan and Miss Rebecca Awuni, Awutu-Beraku Health Centre and Mr Benjamin Nyarko and A. Arthur from the Kasoa Health Centre.

Other award winners included, Miss Alberta Osabutey, and Miss Veronica Quansah, both of the Winneba Government Hospital. In addition, special awards were also given to Mr John Hammond, Mrs Nancy Ekyem, Mr Richard Acquah and Mr Eyiah Mensah, of the District Directorate of the Health Service.

Speaking at the function Mr Solomon Kwashie Abbam-Quaye, District Chief Executive and Dr Kobina Bainson, Medical Officer praised health workers in the district for accepting the challenge to stay in the country and contribute their quota towards national development. Mr Abbam-Quaye appealed to them not to allow the so-called greener pastures elsewhere to influence them to leave the country, but to maintain the irresistible and deeper humane spirit they had cultivated to assist the Government to improve the health status of Ghanaians. The DCE advised doctors, nurses and other paramedical workers to team up with the management of the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme to make the scheme successful.

Mr Abbam-Quaye said his doors were open and asked Health Directors and administrators to approach him with matters affecting their work for concrete solutions to promote quality healthcare delivery in the district.

Dr Kobina Bainson, a private medical practitioner and guest speaker for the occasion, drew the attention of doctors, nurses and other health employees to the challenges that the National Health Insurance Scheme was likely to produce, and counselled them to brace up with a high sense of fellow feeling, to cope with the challenges. He said that with the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme, state health facilities would soon encounter an astronomical rise in the daily outpatients records, which would call for greater patience.

Mr J. N. Aryeetey, former registrar of the University of Education, Winneba, who presided, called for co-operation and teamwork to make Ghana a healthier, happier and progressive nation.

Mr Aryeetey who is currently the registrar of the Methodist University in Accra stressed the importance of the NHIS and appealed to health workers to help in inculcating spirit of nationalism in the people to push the NHIS forward.