The management of Suhum Government Hospital in the Eastern Region has declared its intention to bring back the cash-and-carry system due to failure on the part of National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to honour their claims.
Dr Tetteh Ashong, medical superintendent of the Suhum Government Hospital, told DAILY GUIDE that the decision had been taken because NHIA has failed to pay claims submitted by health facilities in the district for the past seven months, running into over GH¢800,000.
The last time they were paid was June last year.
He mentioned that they had no alternative but to withdraw from the scheme until the NHIA pays the claims.
Due to the increasing debt, suppliers are refusing to provide the needed drugs and equipment to the hospital, adding that ‘the situation is posing a threat to service delivery.’
Dr Ashong, therefore, called on the management of the NHIA to reimburse them as soon as possible for the health institutions to carry out their duties to save lives.
He explained that 85 percent of the hospital’s income is from the NHIS, and as a result, the hospital is forced to rely on other sources of income which are not regular.
Dumsor
Dr Ashong hinted the major challenge facing the centre is the load shedding, and the hospital had to spend GH¢25,372.07 on fuel to run a generator for power to enable the hospital staff to offer their services to the people in the municipality and beyond.
He averred that the load shedding had collapsed three machines at the operating theatre and two at the chemistry laboratory, and he is appealing to the general public to come to their aid and help them financially to repair them.
Dr Ashong expressed his gratitude to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Frederick Opare-Ansah, for contributing 80 percent of the resources for the construction of the administration and the emergency blocks.
He advised the public to eat good food, exercise regularly and go to the hospital for early diagnoses than to be seeking help from other places first before reporting to the hospital when their conditions get worse.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Suhum
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