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0 Members of Health Services Sector Supply Chain Practitioners Association of Ghana (HESSCPAG) are calling for autonomous powers and recognition as part of the country’s Health Care delivery process to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare industry.
The National President of Health Service Supply Chain Practitioners Association of Ghana, Stephen Sakyi who spoke with 3news after the opening ceremony of the 16th Annual General Meeting of the Association in Ho lamented over the challenges bedeviling Health Service Supply Chain Management Staff, noting that there is a general misconception regarding their duties as health practitioners.
He said people consider their job as mere clerical works, thus have relegated them to the background in the decision making process.
Mr Sakyi also called on authorities of the Ministry of Health to prioritize the mechanization of non-mechanized procurement and supply chain staff to enable them secure financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance for their recruitment and placement in the health sector.
According to him, the lack of professional license for members is a serious contributive factor to the numerous challenges militating against the upward growth of procurement and supply chain practitioners in the health service sector.
The National President however recognized strides made by Health Services Workers Union (HSWU) in negotiating for better condition of service for health workers as they grapple with the current hash cost of living in the country.
With greater support from members, Mr. Sakyi emphasized that the association has achieved remarkable growth as they have in the past four years advanced their mission of building a resilient, ethical and professional workforce in health service supply chain management. They have made significant strides to ensure that the construction of a hotel complex for the association is completed on schedule.
He disclosed that an amount of One Hundred and Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC108,000.00) has been invested in the hotel project. Building and Construction Experts from Architectural Engineering Company Ltd. have been engaged to come-up with drawings and building plan for effective work to start.
In a speech read for him by the Director in-charge of Procurement and Supply Chain at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Edward Bright Agyekum, the Chief Director of Health Service, Dr. Alhaji Hafiz Adams urged procurement and supply chain management staff to consider leveraging digitalization and professional licensing to ensure that they create a more robust supply chain system in the health service industry.
The Chief Director noted that digitization ultimately revolutionizes their approach to supply chain management which allows them to streamline processes to enhance efficiency, transparency and fairness in the distribution chain.
He said digitizing supply chain processes do not only help to maximize waste but also improves patients’ outcomes across the country.
Professional licensing on the other hand, Dr. Alhaji Adams emphasized is critical as it ensures high ethical standards in their practices, fostering trust within the field of work as supply chain management staff.
The Chief Director admonished health service supply chain management practitioners to think creatively and collaboratively and build a system to meet the current demands of them to perform creditably in the chain of health care delivery in the country.
The Volta Regional Director of Health Service, Dr. Chrysantus Kubio noted that within the health sector, professional licensing does not only serve as a mark of trust and quality assurances but also safeguards ethical practicing of supply chain management as the health sector allows skilled and accredited professionals to grow.
Dr. Kubio stressed that in the current health care delivery system, digitalization and professional licensing presents itself as a powerful driving tool impacting positive change to ensure efficiency and effectiveness as health care delivery staff.
The Regional Director therefore urged participants not to take the annual conference as only a platform for learning but as an appropriate opportunity to collaborate with the resource persons to help them find solutions to the numerous challenges associated with their work as health sector service supply chain management staff.
The annual general meeting which was under the theme: “Transforming Supply Chain Through Digitalization and Professional Licensing” brought together over 300 procurement and supply managers as well as administrative officers across the country.
The four-day conference afforded them an enabling ground to take stock on activities in the year under review and come-up with new and effective strategic plan for the years ahead.
They were taken through lessons based on digitalization and professional licensing to enhance efficiency and quality practices in the supply chain industry to achieve universal health coverage in the health sector.
The post Ho: Health sector supply chain professionals demand autonomy first appeared on 3News.
