COVID 19: Private health facilities cry for personal protective equipment
The Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana (PHFAG) has called on the government to, without any further delay, provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for the facilities or they will be forced to close down.
It said many of the over 1,000 private facilities had run out of PPE, while others had theirs almost depleted.
Advertisement
In a statement, the association said the over 1,000 member facilities found it difficult to cope with the challenges, adding that efforts by the members to help curb the community spread of the COVID-19 were under threat.
Facilities handicapped
The statement, issued by the acting President of the association, Mr Samuel Boakye Donkor, said private health facilities were also handicapped in providing the PPE for themselves because of the money owed them by the government under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for services rendered.
“Our ability to procure the needed logistics in order to remain in battle has been crippled by the prevailing erratic claim reimbursement pattern. It is sad to note that our facilities are yet to receive reimbursement for services rendered over a period of between nine and 14 months,” it said.
Futility
It said numerous pleas to the authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
While commending the government for efforts taken to contain the global pandemic, the association wished that the national effort reflected utmost preparedness at all levels of healthcare delivery across the country.
“As of present, majority of private health facilities in Ghana lack the necessary logistics to keep staff safe from infections. Unfortunately, very little has been heard about the government’s intentions towards supporting and empowering private health facilities,” it said.
It further indicated that the member facilities were left with no option but to consider shutting down to avoid becoming agents for the spread of the COVID-19 due to lack of PPE.
It said should the government step up its emergency measures to include the provision of the needed resources for private facilities, expansion of the insurance cover to include private health workers and the immediate release of NHIA funds, members would not hesitate to play a vital role in the containment of the global pandemic.
National update
The periodic situation update provided by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on the national approved website indicated that 11 new cases of the COVID-19 had been confirmed in Ghana, bringing confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. yesterday, March 29, 2020 to 152.
It said 10 of the new cases were among people who were under mandatory quarantine in Tamale under the direction of the Northern Regional Security Committee.
“The 10 cases were Guinean residents who travelled through Burkina Faso and Togo to Ghana and were picked up following an intelligence report. The 11th case was recorded in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region,” it said.