Accra, March 28, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority has demanded the immediate exemption of health facilities from the current unannounced electricity load shedding exercises.
Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, and NDC Member of Parliament for Juaboso, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday, called for an audit to ascertain the capacity and reliability of hospital alternate power supply systems.
He said the Minority had noted with deep concern the devastating impact of the ongoing unannounced and unscheduled electricity load shedding on the delivery of essential health services across the country.
“We are worried by reports that these outages have led to increased morbidity and mortality among patients relying on especially public health facilities,” he said.
“Amid these happenings, the Government has refused to heed wise counsel from suffering Ghanaians and businesses to publish a load shedding timetable to enable them plan their lives.”
“This situation has obviously begun to take a toll on critical healthcare facilities across the country.”
He said the Minority, therefore, demanded some interventions by government to save the people from the ongoing crisis in the health sector.
He said the Ministry of Energy, in collaboration with relevant agencies must, without delay, exempt all health facilities nationwide from the current unannounced and unscheduled electricity load shedding and power outages.
He noted that the Ministry of Health, working in tandem with the Ghana Health Service, should audit all alternate power supply systems within health facilities to determine their capacity and reliability in handling electricity disruptions.
That would also check procurement of emergency power supply systems to determine if current systems were inadequate.
Mr Akandoh urged the Government to provide adequate resources for the procurement of fuel and essential inputs necessary for the seamless operation of alternate power supply systems.
Mr Akandoh appealed to the Government to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment to gauge the effects of recent power outages on health facility operations, including their impact on patient morbidity and mortality.
“We therefore demand swift action from relevant authorities to address these critical issues and safeguard the delivery of vital health services to Ghanaians.”
GNA