Western Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah
Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah, Western Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has charged health facilities in the Region to take advantage of the Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme of the Service to replenish their fleet of vehicles.
This he said was necessary to ensure efficient and effective positioning of health logistics for service delivery.
“I will direct all other facilities to ensure they get the vehicles. As much as we need nurses and doctors, we need the vehicles for the efficient running of the facilities,” he said while presenting nine VW Amarok pick-ups to nine health facilities in the Region last Monday.
The new vehicles were procured through the GHS Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme and are expected to enhance vehicle availability and operational efficiencies to improve health delivery in the region.
The beneficiary hospitals are the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Kwasimintim, Axim, Wassa Akropong, Essikado, Nana Hima Dekyi, and Apinto Government hospitals.
Dr. Yeboah said though facilities relied on vehicles to convey logistics and undertake other critical errands, the service had for some time now not been able to procure vehicles which were affecting service delivery.
He said plans were advanced to procure the second batch of vehicles for other facilities in the Region.
Mr. Paul Kingsley Arthur, Regional Transportation Manager, assured all that the GHS would strictly follow the vehicle maintenance specifications doing routine servicing to prolong the lifespan of the vehicles.
He said as part of the arrangements, the drivers and mechanics of the GHS would be trained on how to service the new vehicles while spare parts would be provided within the three years of the vehicles’ warrant.
He said for security reasons, tracking systems would be installed in the vehicles to also check the behaviour of the drivers.
Mr. Thomas Kofi Tawiah, Deputy Director, Administration urged medical Superintendents and Administrators to ensure that the vehicles were used for the right purposes.