By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Accra, Nov 15, GNA – The Government has renegotiated the contract terms for the construction of a 160-bed facility of the La General Hospital with the contractor moving to the site next week.
Presenting the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the 2024 Financial year, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance. said the project would now be funded from the national purse.
The Government also engaged the Ghana Medical Association on waivers for the importation of vehicles to ease the transportation burden of doctors with the passage of the Exemptions Act,
The policy is expected to enable doctors to deliver quality and timely healthcare.
On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Minister said it witnessed an expansion in coverage, with 16 million active members as of September 2023, representing 80 per cent of the targeted population of 20 million.
Mr Ofori-Atta said efforts to integrate the Ghana Card into the NHIS enrollment system were progressing steadily.
He said the Government was investing in the expansion of health infrastructure in every district under the Agenda 111 initiative.
The Finance Minister said to reduce the dialysis burden on the nation, a local team of Ghanaian doctors had been trained to provide kidney transplantation services at a reduced cost and had successfully undertaken the first few kidney transplantations in the country.
He said the health ministry would commission a 100-bed ultramodern Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence aimed at facilitating the provision of kidney transplantation services at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
He said the KBTH also initiated the manufacturing of Hypertonic Saline, a critical resource for surgeries and Hyponatremia treatment, making it the sole manufacturing site in Ghana.
GNA.