Ms Freda Alowri, a Senior Midwifery Officer (SMO) at the Zorko Health Centre in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region, has admonished expectant mothers to promptly adhere to referral orders from lower to higher health facilities to prevent complications.
She said referrals, especially from health facilities in rural areas made to higher facilities for further management, should be taken seriously without delays especially in pregnant women since that could result in complications and possible deaths.
“Pregnant women in rural areas are usually reluctant to go on referrals to higher facilities and if there is an issue we those in the deprived communities cannot handle.
“It is not all the cases we those in derived areas can handle, and so if we detect such cases and refer, they should not delay, but go immediately,” she said.
Ms Alowri, who has decades of work experience in the rural community, gave the advice in a n interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after she was awarded the 2024 Best Midwife by the District Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The Directorate at its 2024 annual health performance review meeting held in Bolgatanga, recognized Ms Alowri’s “Outstanding skills and expertise in the domain of maternal and neonatal care”.
The Directorate said her commitment to delivering high-quality care, mentorship and adherence to best practices had profoundly influenced maternal health in the district.
The midwife advised women in rural areas to immediately visit the nearest health facility if they missed their menstrual cycle and suspected pregnancy.
She said early Ante-Natal Care services in the first trimester of pregnancy was the surest way for save delivery and insisted that “Pregnant women should try to visit the nearest health facility early for good maternal services.”
For midwives who refused postings to rural areas to work, Ms Alowri said there was much experience to gain at health facilities in rural areas, and urged midwives, especially junior staff to accept postings to any part of the District where their services were needed, and work diligently to uplift the image of the GHS.
Ms Estella Abazesi, the District Director of the GHS, who presented the award to the midwife, told the GNA that staff motivation was important to the Directorate as a means to urge them to deliver their best.
She said staff nominated among themselves, those they thought deserved awards, and management also considered key performance indicators of the various facilities for the awards.
“The indicators carried 70 percent performance and 30 percent for the nomination. That was what we did for both individual and for the facility level,” she said, and encouraged her staff to continue to work hard to improve service delivery.
The Directorate, apart from Ms Alowri, recognized and honoured nine other staff under various categories namely: Mr Mohammed Abu, Mr Michael Awia Achuliwor, Madam Cynthia Lariba Apemjobey, Mr Maxwell Kamah Alagnona, Mr David Adongo, Madam Gloria Wulug, Madam Rihanna Akugre Awudu and Madam Agnes Aloyine Atibila.
Three Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds; the Beo Tankoo CHPS, Kadare and Nayorigo CHPS together with the Namoo, Soe, Valley and Zorko sub-district zones were awarded.
The GHS also honoured WaterAid Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization, for its contributions to healthcare delivery in the district.
