The Eastern Regional Director of Health, Dr. Damien Punguyire, has expressed excitement about the establishment of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares), saying the initiative will lessen the financial burden on families struggling with overwhelming medical bills from chronic illnesses.
The fund, according to him, is a laudable intervention by President Mahama which has come at the right time to help many Ghanaians suffering from chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, but which the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) often does not fully cover due to the associated high costs.
Dr. Punguyire was speaking when the Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, Obuobia Darko-Opoku, paid a Needs Assessment working visit to the Eastern Regional Hospital.
The visit was to help the Administrator and her team assess the condition and availability of essential diagnostic equipment, the gaps in human resources, as well as service delivery at the health facility.
Later, the Medical Director of the Eastern Regional Hospital, Dr. Arko Akoto-Ampaw, appealed for the completion of the new regional hospital, since the current one which has been in existence for 100 years is gradually becoming not fit for purpose.
Dr. Arko Akoto-Ampaw, however, highlighted key achievements made over recent years, many realized without direct government funding, but pointed out a plethora of challenges the hospital continues to face.
He mentioned that although the number of patients who visit the facility for healthcare has increased over the years due to its unique location, the hospital is lacking several critical pieces of equipment. For example, out of the seven dialysis machines available to the hospital, only five are in good working condition.
“The Eastern Regional Hospital, as we speak, does not have a cardiovascular unit, an Anaesthesia Intensive Care Unit, a mammogram machine, an endoscopy suite, a functional oncology unit, a radiotherapy centre, an MRI machine, X-ray machines, or a PET scanner,” Dr. Akoto-Ampaw lamented.
He appealed to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund to make the retooling of hospitals across the country a critical part of its work, noting that the last retooling happened some twelve years ago.
Story by: Eric Boateng
