Title: Accountability
Course: Health Management, Ethics and Research - Ethiopia (Full)

Accountability

As a Health Extension Practitioner you are responsible to the people in your community to promote, protect and meet the health needs of individuals and those of the whole community. You are also accountable to them to justify how you go about your work. Are you doing your best for the welfare of the people (beneficence)? You have a moral obligation to respect and practice within your professional standards and meet the competencies established for all healthworkers in your position. Moreover, you are required to provide timely and adequate feedback to your professional colleagues, to report colleagues' incompetence and unethical practices, and to withdraw when you are feeling unable to provide satisfactory healthcare services.

Sindhu is a Health Extension Practitioner. She had been a good and competent practitioner, loved and respected by her clients, colleagues and everybody in the neighbourhood. She has now become very low in her mood and the service she is providing to her clients is below what is expected by her professional standards. Her work is becoming disorganised and it is clear that many of her competencies are not being met. Some of her colleagues would like her to stop practising, but do not wish to tell her so. As a Health Extension Practitioner working in the next village, what should you do?

Show answer

This is a very sad situation, but it is clear that something has to be done so that the health of Sindhu's community is protected. Accountability is an important part of the work of all healthworkers. It is also clear that your responsibility includes taking the steps that will ensure that the standard of the Health Extension Programme is maintained. You should talk with your other colleagues and consider whether you need to talk to Sindhu or one of your supervisors about this problem.