Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for broad reforms in Ghana’s health sector, saying better training, stronger technical support and improved public engagement are critical to improving healthcare delivery.

Speaking at a health sector engagement, the Vice President said the country must rethink how it trains health professionals to respond to changing national needs.

“One area that all of these raise is the important area of training. So when you are listening, it means that we don’t have one generic definition for, or even rather, a monolithic definition of a nurse?”

She stressed the need for closer collaboration between doctors and nurses during training.

“Because the nurses are there to support the doctors. I remember at the university we were arguing that you need to bring the nurse very, very close to the doctor in terms of training so they can assist. Otherwise, if you leave them behind, how are they going to assist and give the right support?”

She said the conversations should push training institutions to reassess their programmes.

“What does the country need now? Is it training as usual? Which areas are lacking? Where are the gaps? Are they specialist training or are they, let’s say, a new curriculum altogether?”

“I think this should give interesting challenges to our trainers.”

The Vice President also raised concerns about the maintenance of medical equipment, arguing that technicians are too often left out of the process.

“In terms of the equipment, it looks like, again, you also need to train the technicians who are going to maintain the equipment. Too often we leave the technicians behind, and that doesn’t help us.”

She said minor faults often leave vital machines unusable for long periods.

“Sometimes you go to a hospital, the machine is sitting there, and there’s a small bolt that has come off, and then another one joins, and another joins, and before you know it, the machine is not functioning.”

“Maybe if the technician knew how that machine was put together, the technician would have been in a better position to know how to maintain it.”

She called for technical staff to be involved in the assembly and installation of equipment before they are deployed.

“We don’t just get finished products, and we don’t even know what to do with them, because now they are working and tomorrow they are not working.”

She also questioned long waiting periods for equipment servicing.

“How often is that machine used? How regularly? How about servicing? Why four months? Is it twenty-four/seven?”

The Vice President appealed to the media to keep the public engaged in the debate.

“So Alex, you have made a very important point for me about telling the story. Please, you see, we are here to serve the public.”

She said healthcare access in northern Ghana must also go beyond Tamale, urging attention to communities in the Savannah, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions.

“Please go further. Whether it’s Bolga or Wa or some place.”

She said road infrastructure remains closely linked to healthcare delivery.

“So you can see the connection between the roads and healing. They are all connected.”