The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako has admonished health care professionals to see patients’ safety as a prerequisite for strengthening the health care systems in Ghana. According to him, lack of standard procedures for storage of similar medication, poor communication between the different health care providers, lack of verification before administering medication and lack of involvement of patients in their own care might all be underlying factors leading to medical errors that affect patients’ safety and the quality of health care delivery in Ghana.
Prof. Asare-Bediako was speaking as the Chairperson for the 4th National Safety and Healthcare Quality Conference organized by the World Health Organization, Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani.
Speaking further on the theme for the Conference “Advancing Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality during Public Health Emergencies”, the Vice-Chancellor indicated that every year millions of patients suffer injuries or die because of unsafe and poor quality health care. “Medical errors are the leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in the health care systems: globally, the cost associated with medication errors has been estimated at US$ 42 billion annually”, he said. He was hopeful that the participants who were mainly health care providers would prioritize patients’ safety while making progress towards effective Universal Health Coverage(UHC) under the SDG 3, which ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for all at all ages by 2030.
