Cases of Out-Patient Department (OPD) attendance due to hypertension in the Northern Region increased from 28,882 in 2010 to 31,771 in 2011.

Dr Akwesi Twumasi, Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) who disclosed this said, however, that deaths from cerebrovascular accident decreased from 3.28 per cent of total deaths in 2010 to 1.04 percent.

The Director who was speaking at a three-day annual performance review meeting of the GHS said early detection and health education would be ensured to help address the challenges.

The meeting, which assembled development partners and various directors and staff from the 20 districts of the Region, sought to take stock of their performances in the year 2011 and deliberate on how to address challenges the region was facing.

It was under the theme: “Going beyond Plans to Actions to Accelerate the Attainment of MDG Four and Five”.

He also hinted that death due to hepatitis B increased marginally from 1.07 per cent in 2010 to 1.46 per cent in 2011 adding that the region would intensify vaccination to help reduce the rise of the disease.

He said malaria continued to be a major cause of OPD attendance, accounting for 39 per cent in 2011, a decreased from 44 per cent in 2010.

The reduction, he said was due to the various interventions including training, regular monitoring, supervision of malaria cases, management and indoor residual spraying in most of the districts.

Dr Twumasi expressed worry that the region continued to be unattractive to health personnel, saying that out of the 33 staff posted to the area only 27 reported for duty.

He said the establishment of four Health Training Schools in the region had boosted the staff strength of the auxiliary nurses who had contributed significantly to health delivery.

Dr Twumasi said the region was short of critical staff including doctors, professional nurses, nurse aesthesis, pharmacists, Laboratory Technicians and midwifes.

Mr San Nasamu Asibigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister in a speech read on his behalf, said the high maternal deaths recorded in the year under review was a wake-up call for stakeholders in the reproductive and child health service delivery to work extra hard to reduce deaths.