The Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched PROMPTS, a digital maternal health platform known as “Nurse Mary,” together with a Regional Helpdesk Service to enhance maternal and newborn healthcare across the region.
Developed in partnership with Jacaranda Health and integrated into the Ghana Health Service, the platform enables pregnant women and new mothers to receive personalised health information through two-way SMS on their mobile phones.
The service also allows mothers to ask health-related questions and receive timely responses from trained Ghana Health Service nurses and midwives.
Speaking at the launch at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Robert Amesiya, said the initiative is designed to address critical information gaps that continue to contribute to maternal and newborn deaths despite ongoing efforts by healthcare professionals.
He noted that integrating the Helpdesk into the Ghana Health Service ensures it becomes a permanent component of the country’s maternal healthcare referral system rather than operating as a standalone project.
The Regional Helpdesk is staffed by GHS nurses and midwives and uses artificial intelligence to identify and prioritise urgent cases. Trained clinicians then review each case and provide appropriate medical advice and referrals where necessary.
Health officials said embedding the service within the Ghana Health Service will improve its long-term sustainability while providing health managers with real-time data to monitor service delivery and strengthen the quality of maternal care.
According to Dr Amesiya, the pilot phase has already enrolled thousands of mothers across Greater Accra and has received positive feedback from both healthcare providers and beneficiaries. He said the platform has helped reduce the workload of frontline health workers by giving mothers access to evidence-based information before clinic visits and facilitating referrals for mental health and other specialised services.
The launch forms part of Ghana’s wider efforts to harness digital health technologies to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality while expanding access to quality healthcare. Health authorities are encouraging district health managers and frontline healthcare workers to fully adopt the innovation to ensure pregnant women and new mothers receive timely information and lifesaving support.
Source: 3news
