By Ewoenam Kpodo
Ho, Oct. 08, GNA- Dr Alphonse Makafui Dzakpasu, Volta Regional Chairman, Medical Superintendents Group (MSG) has challenged hospital heads to lead Ghana’s push towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through innovation in Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC).
Speaking at the Group’s ongoing 24th Annual General and Scientific Conference in Ho themed, “Leadership and Innovation in Free Primary Healthcare towards Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Ghana: The Role of Medical Superintendents,” he said the theme could not have come at a more defining moment.
“As medical superintendents, our responsibilities extend beyond the management of hospitals. We are leaders of people, custodians of quality and patient safety, stewards of limited resources, and important links between policy and realities of healthcare delivery.”
Dr Dzakpasu said the FPHC agenda presented both an opportunity and responsibility, challenging hospitals to rethink referrals, manage demand, harness technology, and provide leadership to achieve UHC.
Dr Dzakpasu said the conference offered a platform to interrogate issues, share innovations, and strengthen the collective voice of medical superintendents nationwide.
Quoting the Ewe proverb “Nunya, adidoe, asi metunee o” (Knowledge is like the baobab tree, no single person can embrace it alone), he said that it captured the essence of the gathering.
Dr Dzakpasu urged members to also use the few days to reconnect, relax and enjoy Volta’s hospitality and experience its culture, and expressed hope that participants would leave Ho not only with new ideas for their facilities but refreshed in body and renewed in spirit.
Dr Eric Sarpong Ntiamoah, President, MSG said their membership brings together leaders of hospitals and polyclinics, whose responsibilities under the FPHC policy differ, noting some polyclinics participate directly in delivering the FPHC while hospitals fall outside the programme, but must prepare for its expected effects on demand for their services.
He declared the MSG’s readiness for the FPHC, saying “it starts at the polyclinic level, and hospitals must complement it in terms of referrals for continuity of care.”
“We are ever ready to partner. But we need a lot of resources because free primary healthcare will increase utilisation – human resources, material resources. And one key thing is educating the public to understand where free primary healthcare ends.”
Dr Ntiamoah raised some concerns of the Group which included National Health Insurance Scheme locked-up claims and, non-reimbursement of basic surgeries at polyclinics, conditions of service for members, administrative issues, and facilities’ payment for Medical and Dental Council training of house officers.
“These are some of the issues, and we believe if they are solved, we will make progress,” he said.
Mr James Gunu, Volta Regional Minister, described FPHC as the foundation for achieving UHC, which in turn was relevant to the sustainability of this government’s 24-Hour Economy programme, saying, “Health is wealth. Health is 24-Hour Economy.”
8He said as a result, the government had no option than to collaborate with the MSG to achieve the UHC while also making deliberate efforts to close the health infrastructure gap, disclosing that a total of 36 CHPS compounds had been constructed, with more at various stages of completion.”
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA