Monday, 22 May 2006
A PATIENT’S life is more important than procedures and
formalities, says the Minister of Health, Major Courage
Quarshigah (rtd).
Major Quarshigh said: “It is a sad commentary that today, we see patients suffering unduly because of our insistence on going through the normal process of accepting patients even in emergency cases.”
In a speech at the 38th annual general conference of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) at Abokobi on Wednesday, he asked: “How could a health professional look in the eye of an agonizing patient and lay down his or her tool for material rewards?”
CHAG is an umbrella organization that co-ordinates the activities of Christian health institutions and the health programmes of Christian churches.
The conference was on the theme: “Witnessing Christ in the healing ministry.”
“Physicians and other health professionals are ethically bound to place the medical needs of their patients before their own financial interests”, he said, adding that it behoves health professionals to share their knowledge with others.
“Do we, as highly trained health professionals, teach our patients the secrets of good health including nutrition, personal hygiene and environmental sanitation?”
He urged the CHAG to “show a veritable example of evidence of Christ” in their healing ministry for others to emulate.
The President of Ghana Medical Association, Dr Francis Adu-Ababio, said that health care delivery in the country is facing serious challenges.
“As a nation, we are constrained by limited financial and human resources to confront the HIV/AIDS menace and malaria.
The president of the Ghana Union Conference of SDA, Pastor Samuel A.Larmie, said that the medical ministry should be used to break barriers and difficult grounds in order to spread the gospel of God, adding “Where in the past we have found difficult to enter, health should act as an entering wedge to bring about difference”.
He asked CHAG members to see themselves as a team of evangelist for God. “We should strive to treat all equal. Never should we allow racial barrier, societal status, religious affiliations or colour to serve as blocks preventing us from discharging honest labour to our people.”
No comments:
Post a Comment