By Alexander Nyarko Yebaoh, GNA
Tema, April 26, GNA - Mrs. Patricia Dogbee, the Principal Community Health Nurse in charge of Solomon City, Santor, Tema, says community health nurses under her work under trees and under very trying conditions.
“It’s sad when you sit under a tree to work and the weather suddenly changes. You have to now think about where to go if it rains. Sometimes we stand on people’s verandas and wait for the rains to stop,” she said.
She also said that they go round homes to beg for chairs and tables to work with because they do not have the means of transporting furniture to the community always.
Mrs Dogbee made this observation at a mini-durbar to commemorate this year’s World Immunization Week Celebrations at Solomon City, Tema.
The celebrations which was on the theme, “Vaccines Work: Get Every Child Immunized,” was organized by the Ghana Coalition of NGOs In Health, in partnership with Ghana Health Service and Gavi—The Vaccine Alliance.
According to her, community health nurses under her watch ply deplorable routes to get to their place of work adding that “sometimes we have to remove our shoes and walk through valleys, rivers because the drivers wouldn’t come go to communities which are not accessible”.
She appealed to community leaders and chiefs of Santor to assist them in getting a permanent place to work since “this would give us the love we need to work,” she added.
Mr. Samuel Boateng Arthur, the Greater Accra regional Chairman, Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, said that Solomon City is just like other deprived communities which do not encourage health workers to give their best.
“The idea is to bring stakeholders together; I mean parents, children, health workers, community leaders, the church, etc. If you’re a health worker and you aren’t motivated enough it would be difficult for you to keep in touch with the community.
We’re here to share the challenges; we’re here to bring the issues out.
As one community we can look at how to deal with this issue. How do we make sure that we reach every child irrespective of where the child is and who the child’s parents are,” he said.
In response to the request to get a land for the possible construction of a health facility in the community, Nii Isaac Borketey Agbuntso, the representative of the Santor Traditional Council, in an interview with the GNA said they had challenges with the Tema Development
Corporation (TDC) over the ownership of their lands, which is making it difficult for them to have full access.
He appealed to government to intervene in the dispute so they could be in the position to use the land for the development of the community.
Dr. John Yabani, the Tema Metro Director of Health, appealed to mothers within the locality to vaccinate their children and discard the notion that the vaccinations could have adverse effects on children.
GNA
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