Report by Nana POKU
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kumah Aboagye has bemoaned the workload confronting the Ghana Health Service staff as a result of a myriad of diseases plaguing the country.
“We are overstretched and overwhelmed with the magnitude of work at my outfit as a result of several diseases confronting the sector which need attention at the same time. The same staff are doing the increased cases in all parts of the country and if we are not lucky some will drop dead,” he said.
He indicated that some staff have had to travel to remote parts of the country to treat or do contact tracing. According to him their resources are constrained to this important exercise.
He told journalists that the fall-out of Covid 19 pandemic and recent Monkey Pox and Marburg diseases coupled with measles, poliomyelitis and fever has further worsened the challenges they face as an institution.
He claimed that their resources, personnel and equipment are being overused. He said even though the government and others have been helping them but they need some more.
He said during the heat of the Covid 19 pandemic 4000 of his staff were affected, few of them lost their lives but as a result of insurance they will be compensated. Giving account of the diseases, he assured the nation that adequate measures have been put in place to deal with the diseases.
He assured that the Covid 19 pandemic has seen a downward drift gone and currently there is only one severe case. He stated that daily occurrence has slumped down from 134 few cases but warned Ghanaian not to be complacent.
Giving an update on the diseases he said only one person has died from the Marburg virus which he said is deadlier than the Ebola virus.
According to him if 10 people contract the Marburg virus, 9 of them will die but with Ebola, 5 of them will die. He explained that as a result human lifestyle, development, easy mobility, and close contact with animals, diseases of these nature abound.
He gave the statistical account of the Marburg and monkeypox as pertains in some parts of the country and how his office is dealing with them.
