The Ghana Health Service has directed all regional health directors to immediately establish Client Relations Officers across health facilities nationwide following growing concerns over patient care and complaints within the healthcare system.
The directive comes hours after the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, paid an unannounced visit to the Mother and Child Hospital, Kasoa. Earlier reports of the death of a mother and baby at the facility sparked public outrage and renewed scrutiny of service delivery at health facilities across the country.
The Minister instructed management to improve conditions and urgently address concerns raised by the public. According to the Minister, the visit was not intended to intimidate or witch-hunt health workers, but rather to assess conditions first-hand and help identify practical solutions to challenges affecting healthcare delivery.
During the inspection, the Minister toured several departments of the hospital, interacted with patients and staff, and encouraged health workers to wear visible identification tags to promote professionalism and accountability.
He also inspected the hospital’s CCTV monitoring system and urged management to ensure continuous monitoring to improve safety and security within the facility.
A closed-door meeting involving officials from the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and management of the hospital also allowed authorities to discuss operational challenges confronting the facility, with some concerns reportedly addressed immediately.
The Minister further announced that similar surprise inspections would be conducted at health facilities across the country to monitor standards and ensure adherence to best healthcare practices.
In what appears to be a broader institutional response, the Ghana Health Service has now instructed all Regional Directors of Health Services to operationalise Client Relations Officers, commonly known as CROs, within facilities under their supervision.
In a directive issued by the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, the Service noted that the increasing number of patient complaints and service-related concerns, if left unresolved, could undermine public confidence in the healthcare system.
The Client Relations Officers are expected to work closely with Regional Public Relations Officers to improve complaint management and communication between patients and healthcare providers.
Their responsibilities will include receiving and resolving complaints promptly, monitoring patient satisfaction, identifying recurring service delivery gaps and escalating critical issues through the appropriate administrative structures.
The Ghana Health Service also directed health facilities to strengthen the use of suggestion boxes and client care desks to improve patient experience and access to information.
Regional Directors have been instructed to submit detailed reports to the Director-General’s office by the end of May 2026, outlining facilities where CROs have been established, names of designated officers and operational challenges requiring further intervention.
The directive emphasised that the exercise should be treated with “utmost urgency” as part of efforts to reinforce professionalism, accountability and patient-centred healthcare delivery nationwide.
Story by: Ekow Boakye
