As part of the rebranding process of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in collaboration with its development partners to deliver quality health care services in the country over the weekend provided training for health care workers including Doctors, Pharmacy Technicians and Nurses from the Connaught Hospital on the New Treatment Chart at the University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospital in Freetown.

The Training which attracted 15 Doctors, 5 Pharmacy Technicians and 35 Nurses was organized by the Systems for Improved Access for pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) with support from USAID.

In his remarks the training Coordinator Mr. Murtada Sesay said the goal of the training is to strengthen pharmaceutical management systems to ensure the availability of quality pharmaceutical products and rational use to achieve desired health outcome.

The system Sesay said will improve health facilities through better organization and management, and improve transparency and accountability of pharmaceutical management systems and improve selection and qualification of pharmaceutical products.

The pharmacist in –charge of Connaught, James Peter Komeh narrated how in 2015 they started a pilot programme in Wards 7 and 10 at Connaught Hospital and the feedback from the users’ Chart demanded a comprehensive survey targeting all wards and the Out-Patients Department.

The system according to James Peter is intended to improve Caregiver and patients’ interaction, to ensure that the correct prescriptions are used with correct and proper documentation of drugs and to correctly administer drugs or treatment to promote quality health service, Unlike the previous administration of treatments and drugs in which prescribers and Pharmacists hardly take responsibility of any wrong treatment, but under the new treatment chart caregivers are obliged to take full responsibility of their interventions because each and every one is required to append his/her signature for any prescription of drug issued to patient.

Nurses are now expected to write dates along the top row and sign in the date column under correct date and time to indicate that the medicine has been given.