Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, on Friday called on the country's health workers to live strictly by their code of ethics and ensure that public health facilities were not used to collect monies for individual pockets.

He said with the establishment of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) the people would hold them to their professional ethics.

The Asantehene said these in an address read for him at the launch of the GHS in Ashanti Region at the Centre for National Culture.

The Service aims at implementing approved national policies for health delivery, to increase access to good quality health services and ensure prudent management of resources.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu gave assurance of his personal support for the GHS and said he would monitor its operation in the region.

He said he hoped the health workers would do everything possible to give the health service a new public image by becoming more humane in their dealings with patients.

Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, called on health personnel to let the huge sacrifices made towards their training by the taxpayer to motivate them to stay at home and serve the health needs of the people.

''See the difficult conditions under which they operate as a challenge.''

Mr Boafo said the government was not unmindful of their problems and that it was doing everything within the constraints of the economy to address them.

The Regional Minister appealed to them to avoid making demands for salary adjustments that could potentially distort the economy.

Dr Isaac Kofi Asare, Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, said they would now be more client-focussed and "we will be user-friendly and offer quality service".

He said staff attitudes and management decisions were going to see significant improvement.

Dr Asare said it was to help achieve these that the GHS has come out with a code of ethics to regulate the conduct of health workers and a 'patients charter' that spells out the rights and responsibilities of patients.