Ghana Medical Trust Fund seeks corporate partnership to retool hospitals
The Head of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), Obuobia Darko-Opoku,has led a delegation to visit some health facilities to assess the current state of medical equipment ahead of the official roll-out of the initiative.
The assessment is aimed at giving the GMTF firsthand information to for an effective assigning of equipment.
The fund, an initiative of President John Mahama, is to provide financial support for Ghanaians with serious, costly chronic illnesses, such as cancer, kidney failure and heart disease, not fully covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
It aims to bridge gaps in specialised care, enhance health infrastructure and prevent families from falling into poverty due to treatment costs.
Revelations
After the tour, Ms Darko-Opoku said the team observed a dire picture of Ghana’s health sector, which could trigger a possible doom because of the lack or breakdown of essential equipment needed to save lives.
Citing the Ridge Hospital as an example, she said the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, which caters for approximately one thousand patients a day, does not have CT scanners, MRI machines, mammography machines and a fluoroscopy unit.
According to her, “these are fundamental tools required for timely and accurate diagnosis of non-communicable diseases, trauma cases, obstetric emergencies and complex medical conditions”.
In the Western Region, Ms Darko-Opoku noted that the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, the pride of the West, cannot boast of a functional CT scan, MRI machine or even reliable ventilators.
At the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, she said: “I’m afraid to tell you the story is not different.
They also cannot boast of an MRI, no functional mammogram and no radiotherapy machines.
The system is stretched. The patients are desperate.
The doctors are doing their best, but they cannot do magic”.
In the Northern Region, the Tamale Teaching Hospital, which is the only tertiary referral facility serving all the five regions in the north, as well as part of the Bono East and Oti regions, the team observed that the hospital’s MRI has been non-functional for a decade, the 64-slice CT scan is currently down, leaving only a 16-slice machine in limited operation at the Accident and Emergency unit.
“There is also no mammogram or fluoroscopy machine,” the GMTF boss added.
In a meeting with the KGL Group last Thursday to seek their support, Ms Darko-Opoku said these challenges cut across almost all the hospitals visited, emphasising that the health facilities were finding themselves in near crisis.
She, therefore, made a passionate appeal to the CEO of the KGL Group, Alex Dadey, to partner with the GMTF and support the fund in purchasing some of the essential equipment for the health facilities.
