Send – Ghana commissioned the studies, which stated that nearly 88 per cent respondents indicated that they were satisfied with services at the health facilities but expressed worry over the manner in which many nurses and midwives handled patients.

The survey also recommended that to increase clients’ satisfaction and confidence in health services, measures should be put in place by the GHS to monitor health personnel who did not adhere to the Code of Conduct or ethics.

According to the study, which was conducted in 30 districts of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Region, clients placed much premium on attitudes of health professionals than their future visits and use of that health facility. It, therefore, recommended to the GHS to take pragmatic steps to address issues that bordered on respectful attitudes of nurses and midwives in maternal healthcare to improve client health provider relationship.

The survey was conducted from August to October, with a sample size of 5,311 respondents, which is equivalent to 30 per cent of the average monthly attendance of each category of maternal health services. The exit interviews engaged only women, with a response rate being 75 per cent.

The survey forms part the project dubbed: “Improving Maternal Health Service Delivery through Participatory Governance”, which was started in February 2014 and is expected to close on by January 31, 2017 The project was aimed at contributing to the effective delivery of maternal health services in Ghana with a specific objective of ensuring that citizens in the selected districts effectively held Government to be accountable, which would lead to improved accountability, responsiveness and service delivery in Maternal Health by 2016.

According to the survey, high antenatal (ANC) attendance had not translated into increased supervised delivery in most health facilities. It said clients’ satisfaction at a first ANC visit determined their future visits and use of that facility. It said clients preferred district hospitals to health centres for all services, except family planning services, particularly, supervised delivery.

Mr Siapha Kamara, the Chief Executive Officer, Send – Ghana, speaking at a National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Maternal Healthcare, said Send – Ghana was working with stakeholders from government agencies and civil society to build consensus on effective ways to improve maternal healthcare in a bid to address the challenges that they had identified.

He said Send – Ghana’s major project over the next four years was to make Ghana work for equity; stating that, the issue of equity was very striking in the health sector. He said the inability of the poor and the vulnerable such as pregnant women to access healthcare delivery was of concern to all and sundry.

Over the last two decades, Ghana has made some progress in improving healthcare delivery and maternal health, in particular. Between 1990 and 2015, access to healthcare by pregnant women increased; thereby reducing maternal mortality from 780 per 100,000 births to 320 per 100,000 births.

This notwithstanding, the pace of progress in maternal healthcare outcomes was not sufficient to enable Ghana to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ms Abena Yirekyiwa Afari, the Governance Programme Officer, Christian Aid, said the implementation of the four-year project had led to improved maternal healthcare in the project areas.

Mr Daniel Degbotse, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, MoH, said the  Ministry in collaboration with the GHS would take the recommendations and findings of the survey very seriously. He, therefore, called for social mobilisation to address health issues across the country.