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‘Negative attitude of hospital staff affecting Adolescent Reproductive Healthcare’
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The attitude of some health staff at adolescent corners at some health centres in the Upper West Region has been identified as one of the barriers preventing adolescent girls from seeking information on reproductive health at the health centres.
The adolescents have said that they would rather speak to their peers than patronise adolescent corners to avoid jeering, insults and name calling from health workers.
This was revealed in a study by Necessary Aid Alliance, a non-governmental organisation in the Upper West Region with support from Plan International Ghana on “Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services (SRHIS)” by adolescents.
Explaining the research findings to participants at a dissemination meeting at Wa, the Executive Director of the NGO, Mr Mulumba Songsore said the issue was a source of worry as 36 per cent of a total of 541 respondents attested to seeking for information from their peers as against 20 per cent who preferred to use the health centres and adolescent corners.
“According to our respondents, some of the nurses are impolite, especially to young clients. Apparently when they go there with issues on reproductive health, they are yelled at, insulted and called names like nasty and ‘spoilt’ and are discouraged from going there”, he said.
Mr Songsore indicated that even without the impolite attitude of health staff, it was difficult for a young person to visit a facility to seek SRHIS so if the environment was not conducive, they would choose to rather rely on friends who were as ignorant as them and were likely to provide them with unwholesome information.
“We were curious as researchers to know what exactly they discussed with their friends by way of information seeking and we identified that most of the discussion (36 per cent) centred on sex life and relationship” he said adding that it was worrying because most of their peers would share information about their mistakes.
He said the lack of professional sources of information for the adolescents had led to unprotected sex, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
“Allow me to quote this response from a respondent: in this community, adolescents who inquire about sexual and reproductive matters are viewed as troublemakers so we are scared to go to the clinic for SRHIS”, he said.
He added that the lack of privacy and confidentiality at the health centres also discouraged the youth from seeking information at the centres such that once the adolescent visited the health facility, it became common knowledge in the community.
“Imagine a girl going to the hospital for medical abortion and the next moment everyone in the community is aware of the incident and people begin to call her names, in order to avoid a similar incident, other girls would prefer to speak to their friends for unorthodox methods instead of going to the health centre”, he said
The NGO wants civil society organsiations to support the Ghana Health Service to provide regular training for health staff at the various adolescent corners to ensure their professional conduct.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has filed his nomination to contest the position of General Secretary again as the party begins its rebuilding efforts ahead of the 2028 general elections.
He was accompanied by party stalwarts and supporters who were in high spirits, expressing confidence that he is the right person to hold the position.
Speaking after filing his nomination, Mr Kodua Frimpong assured the rank and file of the party that he would not disappoint them.
“I can assure you that the faith the rank and file of the party have had in me, I will never disappoint them,” he said.
He also pledged to run a clean campaign devoid of personal attacks.
“I can assure you that our internal campaign will be devoid of personal attacks,” he told his fellow contestants and the rank and file of the party as he seeks to retain his position.
His tenure has seen the party through the 2024 general elections, where the NPP lost power to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after eight years in government.
The party is currently in a rebuilding phase, with internal elections scheduled to elect new national executives to lead its reorganization towards the 2028 polls.
The General Secretary position is considered one of the most influential in the party’s administrative structure, responsible for the day-to-day running of the party secretariat and implementation of party decisions.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has disputed claims made on social media by comedian Michael Blackson concerning the treatment given to his late mother, saying a review found that the allegations did not accurately reflect what happened during her stay at the hospital.
In a statement issued in Accra on August 5, 2026, the management of UGMC expressed condolences to Mr. Blackson and his family over the death of his 83-year-old mother, who died at the facility on July 16, 2026.
The hospital said it had taken the concerns raised by Mr. Blackson seriously and conducted a thorough review in line with its clinical and administrative procedures.
According to the statement, the facts presented by Mr. Blackson on social media contained “numerous inaccuracies” and did not accurately reflect the medical care provided to his mother.
UGMC explained that she was referred to the facility from another hospital and received treatment there from May 27 to July 16, 2026, a period of about eight weeks.
The hospital stated that it would not release details of her diagnosis, treatment, medical records or other aspects of her care because it had a duty to protect patient confidentiality, even after death.
It said the decision was intended to respect the dignity of the deceased and the privacy of her family.
UGMC further stated that all clinical decisions at the facility are made by qualified healthcare professionals based on medical judgment, established standards of care and the best interests of the patient.
The statement added that such decisions are made in consultation with authorised family representatives where necessary and that billing and financial procedures are governed by institutional policies and are separate from clinical decision-making.
The hospital noted that it values feedback from patients and their families and considers both positive and negative comments important for improving the quality of care.
Mr. Blackson had earlier used social media to criticise the care his mother received at UGMC, prompting the hospital’s response.
By: Jacob Aggrey
