Mentally challenged persons seeking care at Accra Psychiatric Hospital may start paying for their medical care from Monday if government fails to provide funding for the health facility in the next few days.
Food suppliers at the hospital have halted their operations due to the hospital’s refusal to settle about three million Ghana cedis debt owed them.
[contextly_sidebar id=”KAeDKTbBYTJhIp3xGcF9k6Scr3j40dfw”]Mental health in Ghana is suppose to be free but the Chief Psychiatrist at the Hospital, Dr. Akwasi Osei said the facility will be compelled to charge patients if government fails to settle the debt.
This, he said, will save the hospital from halting its operations and also ensure the efficient management of the facility.
Dr. Akwasi Osei pointed out that though patients are suppose to enjoy a three square meal each day, the hospital has no money to maintain the standard.
According to him, the hospital’s efforts at getting funding from government to sustain its operations have proved futile.
“…if you don’t have the requisite medicines to take care of the patients and the patient becomes aggressive…,It does not help in the improvement of the patient. The patient should improve,” he explained.
He said the hospital has therefore resolved to charge patients for their medical care if government turns a blind eye to their concerns.
“We have been given hopes and promises so we hope that money will be made available but if it does not, we have a contingency plan.The contingency plan is that we have to offload medical bills to patients.”
“Now they don’t pay any bill on admission except their sanitary and other few things but as it is now by Monday if they don’t get anything, we have to offload that responsibility.A patient may need to pay 550 ghana cedis before we admit them.”
Aside the huge debt the hospital owes some caterers, it has also been struggling to provide medical supplies to mentally challenged patients.
In August 2014 , there was an acute shortage of drugs at the same facility.
The situation was hampering efforts of medical personnel to treat cases at the facility.
–
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana