Safe care must be the heartbeat of Ghana’s health system – Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services
Addressing the media as part of activities to mark the 2026 National Patient Safety Day, Dr Adomako Boateng said non-communicable diseases account for about 40 percent of all deaths, making early detection and safe management critical.
Dr Fred Adomako Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, has emphasized the importance of robust systems to ensure individuals with non-communicable diseases receive safe, prompt, and effective care. Patient safety is a fundamental right and a vital aspect of high-quality healthcare, especially as conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory issues continue to burden communities.
During a media briefing to commemorate the 2026 National Patient Safety Day, Dr Adomako Boateng stressed that non-communicable diseases account for nearly 40% of all deaths, making early detection and safe management imperative. He highlighted that delays in diagnosis and treatment often result in complications that are more challenging and expensive to address.
To improve care, he stressed the need to enhance referral systems, particularly for patients identified at community and primary healthcare levels. Patients diagnosed at health centers and district hospitals should be quickly connected to subsequent stages of care, rather than being left to navigate the system independently. Dr Adomako Boateng also called for robust emergency response systems to guarantee that patients needing urgent attention are not overlooked.
Providing safe care necessitates equipping healthcare workers with the necessary skills and resources while ensuring they deliver compassionate and quality services. Beyond hospital settings, he urged communities to actively participate in preventing and managing non-communicable diseases, urging traditional and religious leaders, civil society organizations, and families to promote healthier lifestyles and encourage early medical consultation.
He stressed that prevention is better than cure and urged the public to take early warning signs seriously and seek professional medical care. For Dr Adomako Boateng, patient safety encompasses more than preventing medical errors; it is about safeguarding lives, preserving dignity, and sustaining hope. As Ghana observes World Patient Safety Day, he called on all stakeholders to commit to strengthening health systems, empowering healthcare professionals, and involving communities in the battle against non-communicable diseases.
Written by urgent.news from 3News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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