By Stanley Senya
Accra, Dec. 20, GNA – Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana (AHSAG), has called on government to increase the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cater for utilities at health facilities.
A news statement signed by Abulais Yaro Haruna, Public Relations Officer, AHSAG and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said some hospital facilities encountering disconnections from the grid by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), therefore, slowing down operations of healthcare delivery.
It said healthcare services must be prioritised, providing the needed resources to enable smooth delivery and access to healthcare.
“The economy is driven by Human Resources, however, humans need a healthy system to be productive”, it added.
The statement said there must be a substantial increase in the NHIS tariffs to cater for if utility bills.
It urged the government to review this directives and allow health service providers negotiate realistic tariffs with the National Health Insurance Authority.
“We believe that this issue needs urgent intervention by government to sustain the operations of health facilities”, it said.
Furthermore, the statement noted the high number of health professionals leaving the country for greener pastures elsewhere.
This poses a major threat to quality healthcare delivery and the attainment of Universal Health Care (UHC) by 2030.
“We urge the ministry of health to put in place prudent measures to immediately curb the alarming rate of staff attrition in the health sector”.
It encouraged the government to consider granting financial clearance for the immediate recruitment of new staff to address the shortfall in health personnel at various health facilities to sustain quality service delivery.
“Any further delay may have dire consequences on the health of the fewer health care providers at post, and the entire nation”, it added.
However, it said the Association was committed to providing effective leadership to complement efforts by government and development partners to ensure more targeted resource allocation and utilisation to fast track the achievement of UHC.
GNA