General News of Thursday, 12 April 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-04-12
Dr. Benakuu wants a more proactive action from government agencies in the healthcare delivery system
At least 50 cases of alleged medical negligence are recorded every year across the country, Dr Gabriel Benakuu, the Chairman of NGOs in Health has revealed.
Unfortunately, none of the reported cases has been dealt with convincingly, Dr Benakuu stated on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM, Thursday.
“We think that we should discuss this issue of alleged medical negligence across the country. We can count more than 50 every year happening everywhere. No single one, to the best of my knowledge, has been dealt with to the satisfaction of the victims…,” he regretted.
The health expert was commenting on the tragic case at the St. Gregory Catholic Hospital in Kasoa in the Central Region, where a toddler allegedly died after a doctor pull off the oxygen mask aiding his breath because his parents could not afford to pay.
Kennedy Kwao, the father of nine-week-old Prosper, returned with the GH¢533 demanded by the health facility for services rendered, but it was too late, the baby had died minutes before, his mother, Sefakor told JoyNews’ Joojo Cobinnah.
The Ghana Health Service swiftly ordered investigations into the case which has sparked anger among the public, with some demanding prosecution of the doctor if it is established that he was careless in his decision.
It is only an action in this direction that can reduce the incidences of medical negligence, it is suggested.
Dr. Benakuu has commended the leadership of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) for the prompt manner it responded to the issue by sending a fact-finding team to the health facility.
He, however, wants a more proactive action on the part of governmental agencies that play a major stake in the healthcare delivery system, to passionately deal with the issue of resourcing the facilities.
According to him, a major obstacle to a smoothly-run health system in the country is the government’s reliance on donor support to run the sector instead of focusing on raising funds “internally”.
“We cannot use this kind of system to develop; we cannot use these practices to transition…We can generate enough income in Ghana to finance our system very well [and] we can collaborate to provide better service delivery to our people,” he told the host of the Super Morning Show, Daniel Dadzie.