The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) has awarded certificates to covid-19 frontline health workers with an appeal to respond to patients on time and change their attitude toward patients.
Over 300 staff was awarded across the departments in recognition of their fight to combat covid-19.
The hospital also received presidential award for the distinguished service rendered to the people in the region.
These awards seek to show the appreciation of the Government to awardee's for the sacrifices they have made which cannot be valued in any monetary terms.
In the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of TTH, Dr. Adam Atiku said that during the covid-19 period, a lot of staff life was at risk when managing covid-19 patients and some have lost their lives in the country, "TTH did not lose staff to covid-19 but their lives were at high risk."
"The efforts of staff were recognized in the fight against covid-19 to make sure that patients were protected and provided with the necessary needs to prevent spreading the virus," he said.
Dr. Atiku stated that the hospital has gone through criticism about the attitude of staff and response time to patients undergoing treatment in the hospital, stating that the criticism would go a long way to supporting the hospital to deliver quality service to patients.
In spite of the criticism the numbers are improving, "attendance is increasing in terms of birth delivery, OPD, mortality rate surpass komfo anokye and Korle-Bu teaching hospital," Dr. Atiku added.
The Chief Executive Officer said that the criticism comes to wake up the staff of the hospital to prevent criticisms that are going to the general public to create trust between the public and the staff.
"These criticisms have been going on in the public and social media for a long time and for that matter, we have to increase our speed in quality healthcare," he said.
He added that the post-covid-19 still calls for commitment to quality healthcare delivery on complications that the covid-19 brought into the health system.
For his part, the Northern Regional Health Director, Dr. Braimah Baba Abubakari said that 60 per cent of the awards in the region was awarded to the staff of TTH due to the quality management of covid-19 patients.
He add that TTH was the covid-19 management center in the Northern region with 1,922 confirmed cases recorded with 32 death among many death in the country.
"Covid-19 has exposed the weakness in healthcare delivery in the country particularly in managing cases like covid-19," he said.
Dr. Baba indicated that the government has retooled the health sector with infrastructure, and equipment among many other things to Improve healthcare delivery to curb the covid-19 and other emergency outbreaks.
He revealed that during the covid-19 period, TTH got many equipment, such as ultrasound machines, ECG machines, oxygen generators, oxygen plants, and a new CT scan to support quality healthcare delivery.
"The good things covid-19 has brought to the hospitals would have to strengthen our healthcare delivery system in the country," he stated.
The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu urges the staff to resolve the challenges confronting the hospital to improve upon the services, stating that negative things has been said on radio and in various publications, in the markets and offices about this Hospital.
"We need to improve the communication for those who raise the negative things to understand the position, but it calls for objective and realistic introspection," he added.
Mr. Shaibu encouraged the staff to come together and discard any divisions and pull him Down syndrome, it does not help the hospital.
"Let us expose the wrong-doers who tarnish the image of the Hospital by their action and inaction and convince the populace that we seek to serve them," Mr. Shaibu said.
He, therefore encourages the general public to report negative things to the attention of management through the various channels at the hospital to prevail cordiality.