NHIS must cover diseases that required major medical surgery – Dr. Puplampu

Dr. Buenor Puplampu, a Neurologist at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra has suggested to government to consider making changes on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover diseases that required major medical surgery rather than inconsequential diseases.

He explained that many patients in Ghana were finding it difficult to raise money to pay for head and spinal injuries as well as cancer treatments because of the high cost involved in their treatment.

Dr. Puplampu made the suggestion at a Health Awards Project Foundation (HAP) Ghana forum in Accra on Tuesday.

He urged government to allow the NHIS to cover major medical surgery events rather than minor diseases such as malaria, which many of the patients could afford to pay for its treatment.

The Neurologist called on government to also provide simple but life saving medical machines and equipment to health facilities to help facilitate the work of medical doctors, who in their quest to provide quality healthcare service to patients were challenged due to the lack of those equipment.

He said the inadequate record keeping on diseases and the lack of appropriate pain reduction drugs in health facilities were a hindrance to the provision of quality healthcare delivery.

Dr. Puplampu appealed to Ghanaians to resort to the eating of indigenous foods, such as yam, maize, cocoyam and vegetables as well as spices such as dawadawa and baobab, which he said, was good for their health needs.

Oblempong Nii Ababio, Chairman of HAP said the organisation carried out Patient Perception Index in 2011 and it revealed that, out of every 10 patients who attended public health facilities, eight of them remained unsatisfied with services provided them.

They also encountered various forms of discrimination at public health facilities even though some of them were NHIS Identity Card holders.

Nii Ababio, who is also the Chief of Ngleshie Alata, called on stakeholders in the health sector to dialogue and to address the many concerns of practitioners and patients.

He called on health workers to avoid the use of strike actions to press home their demands, since that posed irreversible and unbearable consequence on the vulnerable while government should also sought for a permanent solution to the perennial issues of the remuneration of practitioners in the sector.

Mr. “Chuck” Kofi Wayo United Renaissance Party (URP) Presidential Candidate who graced the forum, expressed concerns about the doctor-patient ratio in Ghana, describing “it as appalling where one doctor was to cater for about 10, 000 people."

It was on the theme “Bridging the gaps in health care delivery through effective stakeholder and dialogue implementation”.