Private hospitals across the country are being over-burdened with the number of patients to attend to as a result of the ongoing strike embarked on by doctors of government hospitals.
Doctors working in the various government hospitals are on a sit down strike following the failure by the government to meet their demands for conditions of service.
[contextly_sidebar id=”jvdu0GI5KHYWMlkruQCVsuG42VpO3Fgn”]The activity has led to the suspension of some services including attending to Out-Patients at the hospitals.
The doctors have also threatened to resign en bloc if government fails to meet their demands. Patients have since the strike action been directed to seek medical care from private hospitals signed on to the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Citi News’ Upper East regional correspondent, Frederick Awuni reported that residents living in areas including Bongo, Talensi, Navrongo, Paga, Sandema, Pusiga, Binduri and Timpani will have to travel long distances in order to access medical care at private hospitals.
Meanwhile the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Health Insurance Service Providers Association (HISPA), Dr. Francis Asana is calling on the NHIA to expedite work on the payment of outstanding arrears for private health facilities in order to enable them provide quality healthcare for subscribers.
“The insurance always make it look as if they had paid us up to date but that is not the case. Most facilities have been paid up to December and just a few of us have been paid up to January. It means that they have provided service for five or six months continuously without salaries. Why are doctors in the private hospitals not on strike, it’s because we have paid them… they (NHIA) should do well and pay us fast so that we can be able to pay the doctors, buy the drugs and provide the good health services they need for their clients,” he said.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citifmonline.com/Ghana.