Health care system of Sierra Leone Health, Medicine Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

HEALTH SYSTEM IN SIERRA LEONE
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Health Care System of Sierra Leone
The nature and quality of healthcare services available Sierra Leone
Health services in Sierra Leone are delivered through a network of health facilities that work together in collaboration for effective healthcare delivery. The health network is made up of 1040 marginal units (WHO, 2018). The groups consist of the community health centers, community health post, maternal and child health post and hospitals. The total number of hospitals is recorded at 40 hospitals out of which 23 are government, and the remaining are private hospitals. The number of hospitals is small relative to the total size of the population in the country (WHO, 2018). There is a high ratio of patient to a health facility in the country. Therefore there is a need to increase the number of health facilities in the country to facility easy access and quality of healthcare. The low number of hospitals leads to crowded health facilities which hinder the delivery of quality services in the hospitals. Also, overcrowded hospitals allow for the natural spread of contentious disease thus lowering the quality of patient safety in the hospitals.
The Government of Sierra Leone in collaboration with the health stakeholders is working toward improving the status of healthcare in the country. Among the significant initiatives to be implemented in the country are the Basic package for health services and the free health care initiative (Heart, 2016). The efforts are working towards improving the health of mostly the women and children who carry the most burden of disease prevalence in the country. The implementation of the initiatives requires a source of funding in which the sector-wide approach is working in collaboration with the government to secure the financing of this initiatives. The efforts will support the attainment of the Millennium development goals 4, 5 and six which are geared towards the health sector.