Since its introduction to Ghana in 2011, the SafeCare quality improvement initiative has been steadily transforming the nation’s healthcare landscape—one facility, one worker, one patient at a time. What began as a modest effort to standardize infection-control routines and
documentation protocols has evolved into a system-wide movement that embeds continuous improvement into daily operations. Through partnerships with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), PharmAccess, and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), SafeCare’s ISQua-accredited standards now guide over a hundred facilities toward higher levels of safety, efficiency, and compassion in care delivery.
SafeCare’s framework rests on thirteen service elements spanning clinical and non-clinical domains, from Infection Prevention and Mother & Child Health to Business Performance and Stock Management. Internationally certified assessors, drawn from diverse professional backgrounds including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and quality officers, undergo rigorous training to evaluate facilities against these indicators and to coach teams through digitally enabled improvement cycles.
The strategic partnership between CHAG and PharmAccess, launched at scale in 2019, provided the critical impetus for embedding SafeCare within faith-based networks. Under the leadership of CHAG’s Director for Quality, Dr. Abraham Baidoo, the organization established a dedicated Quality Hub to institutionalize assessments, improvement planning, and progress monitoring. Training emerged as a pivotal component of SafeCare’s expansion.
“ SafeCare has the key to unlock remedies to the quality challenges in our health sector. The programme is 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 ”
During the Assessor Refresher Training in Koforidua—held under the theme “Consistency, Integrity, and Excellence: Elevating the SafeCare Assessment Process for Facilities’ QI”—participants reported profound shifts in perspective. “As a nurse, I used to think quality improvement was just about bedside care,” said Severa Kyeremaa, a paediatric nurse specialist and SafeCare-certified assessor from the CHAG network. “But SafeCare helped me understand that even cleaners and orderlies contribute to patient outcomes. Now I walk into a facility with confidence, knowing I have the tools to help close quality gaps”.
“ We have institutionalised SafeCare within CHAG, and the results are evident. Our facilities are safer, better managed, and more accountable. It is no surprise that Ghana Health Service has adopted the same model. We are proud to share what we’ve learned ”
SafeCare takes you beyond your area of specialisation. You start thinking about laboratory, pharmacy processes, documentation—things that seemed outside your role before. It sharpens your practice
The Ghana Health Service began piloting SafeCare in 2022, initially targeting facilities in the Savannah and Bono East regions. Within a year, several clinics recorded significant quality gains, prompting expansion into ten additional regions. By 2024, four GHS facilities had achieved SafeCare Level 4 status—a leap that would have been unimaginable without structured guidance and digital tools to benchmark progress. Joyce Amponsah of GHS’s Quality Assurance Department noted, “We have moved from fragmented quality initiatives to a system-wide framework. SafeCare has made it possible to track real progress, not just intentions”.
Beyond operational metrics, SafeCare’s influence extends to public trust and medico-legal compliance. “SafeCare is not just a checklist,” said 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.”
Looking ahead, SafeCare’s ultimate promise lies in sustainability and scale. Certified assessors will continue to mentor Private, CHAG, and GHS facilities, embedding improvement methodologies into routine workflows and training new cohorts of change agents. “SafeCare has transformed my approach to work,” Dr. Salman reflected. “I now view quality not merely as a target to achieve, but as a responsibility to maintain”. As Ghana aligns its quality agenda with the broader goal of Universal Health Coverage, SafeCare stands as a testament to what is possible when integrity, consistency, and collective commitment converge to redefine care standards.
Source: “SafeCare is changing lives”: Gradually redefining quality care – The Business & Financial Times
“ When patients know that every step of their care is being guided by internationally recognized standards, it creates trust. Our goal is for every Ghanaian to feel safe seeking care here, not to feel they must go abroad for better service ”
