The Health Sector Environmental Health Practitioners Association–Ghana (HeSEHPAG) is a registered Association under the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) as a professional body for All Environmental Health Officers who are employed by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ghana Health Service (GHS), Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and Quasi Facilities in the country.
The members of this Association and the Profession are regulated by the Allied Health Professions Council of Ghana (AHPC) in accordance with the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857) Part One and enforce the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851) (Part One-Communicable Diseases, Part Four-Vector Control, and Part Five-Environmental Sanitation), International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), Health Care Waste Management Policy and Guidelines (Ministry of Health, 2020), Criminal and Other Offences Act 29, 1960 and other relevant National and Local Environmental Health and Sanitation Bye-Laws.
The NEC of this Association has cited a news item circulating on various social media platforms (Facebook) and YouTube with the subject “Shocking Revelation In Mortuaries (Ghana’s “Sick” Mortuaries),” Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Morgue In Ghana’s Capital Accra By Godwin Asediba, GHONE TV”. With a Hashtag #, Sick Mortuaries Endanger Workers #FixTheSickMortuaries Campaign.
The said story highlighted “The Terrible State Of The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Morgue In Ghana’s capital, Accra, which has been reduced to a home of hatching maggots from dead bodies but still has mortuary attendants working in the Facility.”
The NEC, has since watched the said video documentary as reported by Godwin Asediba of GHONE TV and can confirm the sorry state of the morgue and could identify the public health or statutory nuisances it poses not only to the hard-working Mortuary Workers and licensed Sanitarians (Environmental Health Officers) but to the Korle-Bu community and the general public as a whole.
To this end, the NEC would like to express our gratitude to Godwin Asediba and GHONE TV for bringing out this high public interest story of great public health concern to the known of we the health professionals (responsible to ensure high standards of sanitary conditions in healthcare facilities) and the Ghanaian populace.
As a media house, we kindly entreat you to continue to support the work of the Mortuary Workers and the licensed Sanitarians (Environmental Health Officers) across the country with regard to issues of Environmental Health and Sanitation both in the healthcare facilities and in the communities in order to ensure clean, serene, and a conducive environment free of filth at all times, safe environment for human habitation, improve the standards of environmental health and sanitation in and around all public and private healthcare facilities, institutions/organizations, premises/households, etc.
In order to prevent environmental and sanitation-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, malaria, and other infectious/communicable diseases in the country.
Furthermore, as licensed Sanitarians (Environmental Health Officers) by the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) under Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857) Part One as well as captured under Section 19 of the Public Health Act, 2012, (Act 851),
The NEC would like to humbly call on the Management and the Board of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), the Hon. Minister, Ministry of Health (MOH), the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA), the Mortuaries and Funeral Facilities Agency (MoFFA), and other key stakeholders as a matter of urgency and with all seriousness deserve to attend to the needs of the Morgue of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and that of all other healthcare facilities both public and private to ensure that there are high standards of sanitation as well as free from public health or statutory nuisances that may pose a very high risk to the Mortuary Workers and the licensed Sanitarians (Environmental Health Officers), other Health Professionals/Staff, Clients, Visitors, Family of Clients and the General Public.
Also, the above leadership together with Medical Directors/Superintendents of various health facilities must seek to strictly enforce/implement the provisions of the Healthcare Waste Management Policy and Guidelines, Ministry of Health, 2020, as stated on page 26 “The Environmental Health Officer shall be responsible for healthcare waste management and the sanitary conditions at the healthcare facility level,” by recruiting and/or employing licensed Sanitarians (Environmental Health Officers) to every healthcare facility (both public and private) and adequately resource and empower these health professions to carry out their work effectively without any difficulties whatsoever.
In conclusion, the NEC wishes to declare its support and willingness to work diligently with the Management and the Board of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), and all other Teaching Hospitals, Municipal and District Hospitals in achieving the Health for All goal in Ghana.
Source: Ghana Web
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