
The Ghana Medical Association has lamented the inadequacy of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health personnel leading the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The association, wants the government to expeditiously find solutions towards supplying the PPE to health facilities across the country to reduce the rate of infections among health personnel.
“Health professionals continue to face huge challenges accessing the appropriate PPE for their work. This has contributed significantly to large numbers of health professionals getting infected in the line of duty. The GMA calls on the government to as a matter of priority and urgency, provide the needed PPE’s (both in quality and quantity) at all times to address the recurrent inadequacy of PPE at health facilities. Any supply chain challenges should also be addressed with immediate effect”, a statement from the GMA noted.
GMA has also raised concerns over the shortage of COVID-19 test kits.
“The Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service should address the recurring issues of shortages of test kits. The government’s promise to re-engineer the then Gen- Xpcert machines dotted around the country to do COVID-19 testing is yet to materialize, months later same was communicated to the people of Ghana”.
This is not the first time the Association has decried the lack of PPE for health facilities although the government has assured of significant domestic production and supply of protective equipment to health workers.
The group says, it is faced with an all-time high challenge of inadequate PPE and wants a proper mode of distribution so its members do not endanger their lives.
Some medical doctors and other health practitioners have tested positive for COVID-19 in line with duty.
Meanwhile, GMA has asked for the institution of stringent measures to curtail the increase in cases due to the high communal spread.
Currently, Ghana has recorded 17,741 Coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
The total number of recoveries and deaths is pegged at 13,268 and 112 respectively.
Source: citinewsroom