The implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will not be without teething problems, Dr Samuel Nyarko Etuaful, Medical Superintendent of the Saint Martin's Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum, has stated.
He said, however, that courage was needed to make a start, as things would smoothen out as the scheme goes on.
Dr Etuaful was speaking at the presentation of certificates to 66 Self Health Education (SHE) volunteers drawn from the 21 communities in the operational areas of Resolute Amansie Limited (RAL), a mining company at Manso-Nkran in the Amansie West District after six weeks of training.
The Amansie West District Health Education Unit and RAL jointly sponsored the training of the volunteers.
The Medical Superintendent announced that the district health insurance scheme technical committee had been inaugurated to tour the various communities to sensitise them on the scheme.
The committee, he said, was expected to complete its work by the end of December after which modalities would be drawn up and the premium fixed.
He said the very young and the aged would be exempted from the payment of the premium and therefore asked the people to get interested in the scheme for them to enjoy easy and quality health services.
Mr Randy Barnes, Operations Manager of RAL, catalogued various assistance packages the company had provided the various communities in its area of operation in health since it started work in 1996.
He named them as the construction of an X-ray building with laboratory facilities at the cost of 50,000 dollars for the Saint Martin's Hospital at Agroyesum, the completion of the wiring of the hospital at the cost of 60,000 dollars and the provision of a generator for the hospital.
Mr Barnes said RAL also donated about 2,000 dollars to the public health unit of the hospital for HIV/AIDS awareness programme in the district, renovated a building to be used as a clinic at the cost of 60 million cedis for the Keniago community.
The company also assisted the Abore Health Centre with a mechanised borehole and bungalows at the cost of 80 million cedis.
Mr Barnes said a health volunteer group called, "Obinim A Obikyere", was started by his wife and some interested volunteers with the aim of getting health information to each community for them to learn about their own health.
Mr Barnes said the idea was embraced by all the communities and the first phase of the SHE programme which involved the 66 volunteers was initiated and which had been completed and that the second phase of the SHE programme would train the volunteers to be competent first aid trainers to train other volunteers.
He called for closer co-operation between the chiefs and people, the SHE volunteers and all health volunteers in their communities for a healthier community.
Mr Joseph Adomako, Amansie West District Director of Health Services, noted that the SHE volunteers programme was not a new one and that it had been in existence for a very long time.
He asked the volunteers not to keep the information to themselves but share it with their communities and should not turn "doctors" overnight but refer cases beyond them to the hospitals and clinics.
