Koforidua: At a glance, the transformation might seem modest: a Cleaner, more conscious of disinfection routines, a Nurse adhering to protocols for wound dressing, or a Medical Officer being more attentive to patient interactions and documentation. But beneath these subtle changes lies a quiet revolution, SafeCare, which is impacting Ghana's healthcare system-one facility, one worker, one patient at a time.
According to Ghana News Agency, 'It may be the best hope yet for improving the quality of healthcare in Ghana,' as stated by the internationally certified SafeCare assessors who recently participated in the SafeCare Assessor Refresher Training in Koforidua. The training was conducted under the theme: 'Consistency, Integrity, and Excellence: Elevating SafeCare Assessment Process for Facilities' QI'.
Silently and gradually, SafeCare is helping to shape quality in healthcare delivery in Ghana. SafeCare was introduced to Ghana in 2011 but took off on a larger scale through the strategic partnership with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and PharmAccess in 2019. Through this partnership, selected healthcare professionals are trained to become Internationally Certified SafeCare assessors, utilizing the SafeCare standards to assess CHAG member facilities and support them through improvement initiatives using the digitally enabled quality improvement approach.
Healthcare facilities networks using the SafeCare programme are introduced to a system for measuring, improving, and benchmarking quality using ISQuaEEA accredited standards. The SafeCare standards are categorized into 13 service elements, covering both clinical and non-clinical areas. The focus areas include Accident and Emergency Care, HIV, TB and Malaria, Infection Prevention, Mother and Child, Life and Fire Safety, Customer Care, Business Performance, Staff and Training, Stock Management, and Clinical Management.
Since its introduction in Ghana, healthcare organizations and networks such as CHAG, private healthcare partners, and now Ghana Health Service (GHS), are using the SafeCare system to progress and improve trajectories from low quality to high quality. They are demonstrating that systemic improvement is possible even with limited resources. 'SafeCare has the key to unlock remedies to the quality challenges in our health sector,' says Dr. Jennifer Salman, a pediatrician at Sunyani Municipal Hospital. 'It's more than guidelines and SOPs. It's a way of thinking that transforms everyone in the healthcare facility-from the cleaner to the medical director.'
The Assessor Refresher Training Programme, organized by PharmAccess, aims to empower individuals to become agents of change. Participants include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospital administrators, and quality officers, all trained to use the SafeCare standards and improvement methodology to support healthcare facilities with the provision of safer, efficient, and more compassionate care. 'As a nurse, I used to think quality improvement was just about bedside care,' says Severa Kyeremaa, a paediatric nurse specialist from the CHAG network and a SafeCare certified assessor. 'But SafeCare helped me understand that even cleaners and orderlies contribute to patient outcomes.'
The success story with CHAG is proof of concept. Since 2019, SafeCare has helped the faith-based facilities adopt and integrate a culture of continuous improvement. Under the guidance of the CHAG Director for Quality, Dr. Abraham Baidoo, and with the support of dedicated professionals at the newly set up Quality Hub, CHAG has embedded the SafeCare approach as a major strategic direction to support effective and efficient service delivery among member facilities.
The Ghana Health Service began a small-scale rollout of the SafeCare Programme in the Savannah and Bono East regions in 2022. In just one year, several facilities recorded significant quality gains. Subsequently, after expansion into 100 other healthcare facilities in additional regions, four of the facilities have obtained SafeCare Level 4 quality rating in 2024, a leap that would have seemed impossible without the programme's structured guidance powered by digital innovation.
With healthcare organizations becoming more sensitive to medico-legal issues and striving to gain public trust, the SafeCare system is helping facilities to restore confidence among patients, communities, and healthcare professionals. 'SafeCare is not just a checklist,' says Bonifacia Benefo-Agyei, Country Director for SafeCare Ghana. 'It is a culture of integrity. Our assessors are trained not just to evaluate, but to inspire change.'
The Certified Assessors will continue to work across Private, CHAG, and GHS network of facilities to evaluate quality performance, support improvements, and track facilities' progress through SafeCare's digital assessment tools. But the work doesn't stop there. SafeCare's ultimate promise lies in its sustainability-training teams who can train others, embedding standards into daily operations, and changing mindsets from the inside out. 'SafeCare has transformed my approach to work,' says Dr. Salman. 'I now view quality not merely as a target to achieve, but as a responsibility to maintain.'
