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Government to provide each district with hospital-Major
Quashigah
Accra, March 7, Ghanadot/GNA- Following Government’s
creation of new administrative districts, the Ministry of
Health will this year begin a review of its Capital
Investment Plan to respond to its policy to provide a
hospital in each district.
Such a district hospital would be sufficiently equipped to
effectively handle patients referred to it by health centres
and clinics in its catchment area.
Major Courage Quashigah, the Health Minister who announced
this in Parliament on Friday, said also that Cabinet had
directed the Ministry to harmonise and consolidate the over
13 different laws governing health delivery in the country.
“My Ministry is in consultation with the Ministry of Justice
and Attorney General’s Department and relevant stakeholders
to compress the laws into seven bills,” Major Quashigah
said.
Major Quashigah, who was answering question on the health
sector, listed the Bills as the Public Health, Health
Service, Health Institutions, Mental Health, Medical
Training and Research, Health Professionals and Regulatory
Bodies and Traditional Bills.
Consultations with key stakeholders on the bills are
expected to be concluded and forwarded to Cabinet by the end
of the year.
Major Quashigah said the Health institutions and facilities
bill seeks to establish regulatory bodies to license
facilities for the provision of health care, control and
regulate mortuary facilities as well as the operations of
the Ambulance Service.
As for the health professionals and regulatory bodies’ bill,
it would regulate the practice of Doctors, Dentists,
Pharmacists, Nurses, Midwives and allied health
professionals.
According to the Minister, the Ministry had estimated the
total cost of providing health infrastructure in the country
at GHc 1.26 billion.
He said: “In 2008, the total item 4 budget, including
funding from Government of Ghana, the National Health
Insurance Fund loans and internally generated funds is 106
million Ghana cedis.
“If the current trend continues, it will take about 12 years
to implement this programme.
“The Ministry therefore has a programme to prioritise and
mobilize extra resources for this programme. We are at the
moment prioritizing the completion of ongoing projects and
the maintenance of existing infrastructure and equipment.”
Major Quashigah announced that the Pantang Hospital, near
Abokobi in Accra, was not only for mental patients but also
ran out-patient services and called on the community at
Adenta to patronize the services.
The MP for Adenta Mr Kwadjo Opare-Hammond had asked the
Minister of Health what plans the Ministry had to site a
clinic or hospital in the Adenta Constituency to cater for
the over 100,00 constituents.
The Minister said the Adenta-Madina-Frafraha communities had
been ear-marked for a hospital under a programme by the
Ministry, but funding could not be accommodated in the 2008
budget.
He said the Ministry was consulting some financial
institutions for funding.
Major Quashigah appealed to the Members of the Law-making
House to join hands with the Ministry and local communities
to de-stigmatise mental health patients.
GNA
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