Thursday, October 29, 2009

REASEARCH IMPORTANT TO QUALITY HEALTH DELIVERY

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi
The Western Regional Minister Mr Paul Evans Aidoo has called for support from all sectors of the economy to support medical research to enrich health care delivery in the country.
He said the current medical practice was evidence-base and research helps to develop centers of clinical excellence and decision making.
Speaking at the Medical Superintendents Group conference, said while the developing countries were struggling with health delivery, “in the developed countries, innovative technologies and investment in research have led to improved health care delivery.”
In Ghana and other developing world, lack of successful research strategies had contributed to the poor health outcomes, he said.
The minister said paucity and lack of research in medical practice in Ghana and other developing countries was even worse in clinical practice.
These developments he said could be attributed to inadequate health personnel, work load and their quest to deliver, finance, and information technology were the main factors.
He said it was sad the medical research was not on the priority list of both the national and institutional levels.
Mr Aidoo said the time had come for the major focus on medical research strategies to improve the country’s health care delivery.
“Come home to the Twin-City of Sekondi/Takoradi, you will realize that, our major medical referral centre, the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital is poorly equipped for the institutionalization of adequate medical research,” he said.
He commended the Regional Health Directorate, Sekondi for initiating moves to set up regional research unit and said it would need all the necessary support to realize its dream.
He said new discoveries and expansion of medical frontiers could only be achieved with a well strategize and medical research.
The Minister said in the wake of numerous challenges their deliberation should focus on teaming up to tackle many of the health problems confronting the nation.

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