Treat patients with care, dignity — KNUST VC
THE Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Christian Agyare, has urged health professionals to translate compassion into practical action by treating patients with care and dignity.
He urged them to refrain from discrimination and demonstrate compassion, diligence, empathy and commitment to service in their dealings with all patients.
Prof. Agyare made the call at the 9th Methodist Health Professionals Conference in Accra yesterday, held on the theme: “Compassion in Action: Strengthening Service Delivery in a Changing Health Landscape.”
He said healthcare was not simply about treating illnesses but also about serving people, restoring dignity, bringing hope and standing with individuals and families during vulnerable moments.
The Vice Chancellor said patients deserved health professionals who were not only caring but also highly competent, stressing the need for evidence-based practice, accurate diagnosis, safe medicines, reliable laboratory services and efficient administration.
“Excellence is not simply about protecting our professional reputation. Excellence is about protecting human lives,” he said.
Prof. Agyare also urged healthcare workers to be honest in their records and accountable for the resources entrusted to them.
He said healthcare institutions must regard their resources as a trust meant to serve the people, adding that accountability should be embraced as a means of protecting the mission of healthcare institutions.
He encouraged Methodist health institutions, hospitals, churches, academics and practitioners to collaborate and learn from one another to strengthen healthcare delivery.
The Vice Chancellor urged the professionals to leave behind a legacy of integrity, compassion, excellence and service rather than merely occupying positions.
The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Most Rev. Prof. Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, also urged health professionals not to approach their work primarily from the perspective of what they could gain, but to consider how they could use their skills and positions to serve others.
He said the theme, “Compassion in Action,” captured the essence of healthcare delivery because compassion required professionals to go beyond expressing concern to taking practical steps to help people in need.
The Presiding Bishop said such action represented genuine empathy because it involved going the extra mile to address another person’s needs.
Most Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu encouraged the professionals to regard their work as a mission rather than merely a means of earning a salary.
He urged them to rethink how they carried out their responsibilities by placing service to humanity at the centre of their duties.
BY PRINCE ADDO FRIMPONG
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