By Isaac Arkoh, GNA
Cape Coast, Nov. 08, GNA - Mr Alexander Kodwo Kom Abban, a Deputy Minister of Health has added his voice to the current debate on the urgent need to decriminalise acts of attempted suicide describing the law as ‘incomprehensible’.
He said people who attempted committing suicide should rather be given immediate serious psychiatric care and rallied the unalloyed support of all stakeholders to ensure a robust mental health system that worked for all to avoid the dastardly act.
"Our body constitution itself does not allow anyone to take his or her life. Therefore, before anyone makes an attempt, the person may have reached a point of insanity and if insanity is a disease, why should someone be punished for it."
"The human body always wants to run away from danger including death, so the contention to consciously move towards the point of death means that what is going on in the body is not normal," he explained.
The Deputy Minister of Health who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gomoa West made the appeal during a staff durbar at Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital on the first day of his two-day fact finding working visit to major health facilities in the Central Region on Wednesday.
Mr Abban explained that criminalisation of attempted suicide compelled persons who had suicidal tendencies to take every measure to succeed at the first attempt, while it also discouraged such persons from reporting their emotional crisis early enough for help.
He called for sustained public discourse and stakeholders engagements to consequently repeal section 57 (2) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) on criminalisation of attempted suicide.
Together with officials from the Ministry and Dr. Alexis Nang-Beifubah, Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) among others, they inspected the Regional Health Directorate, Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital and Twifo-Attimorkwa District Health Directorate, where they visited the site of the ongoing District hospital project.
At all the places visited, he took turns to address the staff and deliberated on challenges, successes and the way forward.
Key among their challenges were inadequate human resource, transport, residential accommodation and administrative offices, indebtedness to facilities by the National Health and Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Others were high utility bills, increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), high teenage pregnancy, bad nurses’ attitude towards patients and medical doctors refusing postings to the Region.
To improve quality of health care services, all the managers of the various facilities advocated for the timely release of funds for administrative purposes, clear NHIS indebtedness to facilities, recruitment of staff, adequate infrastructural and logistical support.
Responding to the challenges, the Minister was concerned about the refusal of medical doctors to accept postings to the Region and assured that his outfit will collaborate with stakeholders to provide the needed incentive packages for doctors and workout proper health management system to attract and retain them.
The Region currently has about 40 medical doctors manning the over 430 health facilities.
The Gomoa West Legislator also reminded them of government‘s resolve to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC)-to ensure that all people obtain the needed health services without difficulties.
To achieve the goal of UHC; Ghana has identified Primary Health Care (PHC) as one of the key strategies with increase in the enrolment of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and keeping members active as well as making Community Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compounds fully functional throughout the nation as part.
Others are redesigning the service delivery system to meet the health needs of the people, increase financial resources in the health sector as well as the private sector, civil society engagement and retention of human resources for health.
He charged the health personnel to be committed and cultivate the right attitude of compassionate care and dedicated services to humanity and reiterated that the GHS will not tolerate misconduct on the part of its personal.
Dr Alexis Nang-Beifubah, the Regional Director of the GHS, in an address underlined the urgent need for government to employ its qualified but casual staff engaged by the various facilities since their services were seriously needed.
He praised all health personnel for their commitments and dedication to duty and asked recalcitrant ones to change or be punished to serve as deterrent to others.
GNA
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