May 17th, 2021 at 01:38 pm
The MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, believes banning public officials from seeking medical care abroad would be the best way to fix Ghana’s broken healthcare system.
He, therefore, called for a policy that would stop members of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary from travelling abroad for medical care.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) legislator was speaking at an induction ceremony organized by the Accra Ubuntu Lions Club.
“There is the need to implement a policy of ‘No medical treatment abroad’ for members of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary with immediate effect,” he said, as quoted by Citinewsroom.
“This appears to me to be the best way to address the numerous challenges in the health sector. This will force us to get things right and do right to avoid the needless death of the 12-year-old boy which continues to traumatize me.”
Ghanaians on social media have been bemoaning the failed healthcare delivery system across the country.
Recently, 13-year-old Michael Kofi Kekeli Asiamah tragically passed away at the Korle Bu Teaching due to complications after a brain tumor surgery.
The teenager successfully went under the knife but a lack of defibrillators and a poor system at the hospital led to his demise.
Last week, another 12-year-old met his untimely death due to difficulty in transferring him to a tertiary hospital, despite the intervention of two sitting MPs.
Mr. Ablakwa believes the country has no excuse for some of the challenges in hospital, especially when it comes to the lack of beds to accommodate patients.
“With the continuous no bed syndrome, why are there so many abandoned hospital projects all over the country? And why are others like the UGMC being under-utilized?
“If that 12-year-old boy was my child or that of Sam George, was that the kind of care he would have been accorded when it was clear he needed to be referred?” he asked during an induction ceremony organized by the Accra Ubuntu Lions Club on Saturday.
“Why can’t we have a health system that works for all regardless of status, size of pocket, who you know or who knows you? This cannot be normal and we cannot accept this. The challenges in our broken healthcare system must not be allowed to fester. Some of the challenges are so basic that we have absolutely no excuse,” he added.
source: pulse.com.gh
