In a strategic alliance aimed at bolstering the standard of care and ensuring patient safety, the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the primary healthcare provider in Ghana, is intensifying its dedication to accessible and high-quality healthcare.
This initiative aligns with the pursuit of universal healthcare goals.
Under the leadership of Director General Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye, the GHS has joined forces with PharmAccess Ghana to launch the SafeCare Quality Improvement Program in a limited capacity within the Savannah and Bono East regions.
The purpose of this pilot rollout is to assess the incorporation of SafeCare Standards and quality enhancement methodologies within GHS settings.
The goal is to instigate positive changes and advancements in the healthcare system.
Over the past year, 40 healthcare facilities, including district hospitals, polyclinics, and health centers, underwent an introduction to SafeCare quality standards and improvement methods.
The assessment of these facilities was conducted using the International Society for Quality in Health Care’s External Evaluation Association (ISQua IEEA) accredited standards.
Subsequently, a series of quality improvement initiatives were implemented to support these facilities in enhancing their baseline performance.
Digital applications were also provided to facilitate access to supportive documents, track activities, and offer training for continuous improvement.
Furthermore, more than 100 smaller healthcare facilities in the Savannah and Bono East regions were introduced to a self-administered assessment tool.
This tool allows providers to evaluate their facilities’ performance in quality and receive recommendations for improvement.
In a supportive supervision visit in September 2023, Director General Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye assessed selected facilities implementing the SafeCare program.
The visit aimed to observe the program’s adoption, identify progress and challenges, and inspire other facilities to enhance their commitment to improving the quality of care.
Drawing inspiration from the successful adoption of the SafeCare program by the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye invited Dr. Peter Yeboah, the Executive Director of CHAG, to share his experiences.
The visit, accompanied by PharmAccess Country Director Dr. Maxwell Akwasi Antwi, emphasized the importance of leadership, attitude, and investment in quality improvement programs like SafeCare.
During the visit, Dr. Peter Yeboah highlighted CHAG’s progress since the inception of the SafeCare program in 2019.
He proposed healthy competition and collaboration between GHS and CHAG to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through equitable and high-quality healthcare access.
The Country Director of PharmAccess, Dr. Maxwell Antwi, emphasized the necessity of collaborative efforts between the government and private organizations to establish a resilient, high-quality healthcare delivery system.
He stressed the urgency of creating a healthcare system that ensures patients receive adequate care without the need for physical activation—a legacy health system for the current generation.
The SafeCare Small-Scale Rollout Project in Ghana Health Service, which began a year ago in October 2022, showcases the power of partnerships in significantly improving healthcare quality and delivery.
Preliminary reports from the one-year assessment indicate a 75% improvement in the quality scores of the reassessed facilities. Notably, Bamboi Polyclinic has progressed from SafeCare Level 2 to Level 4 since the baseline assessment.
Ms. Bonifacia Benefo Agyei, the SafeCare Director of Ghana, congratulates Bamboi Polyclinic’s Management and Staff for this achievement.
She encourages them to sustain improvements, adhere to established processes, and aim for SafeCare Level 5, while also urging other facilities to emulate their success.
The ongoing project holds the promise of positively impacting the lives of many Ghanaians by providing access to high-quality healthcare services.