[Photos] Effia Nkwanta hospital to charge more for dumsor

Managers of the Effia Nkwanta Regional hospital in Sekondi in the Western Region has hinted that it may be forced to charge additional fees to support daily operations facility if the current power crisis does not end soon.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ca8KbbB57oojXmQd8FP5xtj0qz7Iam5G”]They say the delays in payment of the NHIS levy coupled with a weekly fuel demand of over GH10, 000 for their generators is negatively affecting their finances.

Speaking to Citi News, the senior Medical Director at the Effia Nkwanta Regional hospital Dr. Ntodi said it is their prayer that the power situation ends soon.

“We are still talking with our regional director. We are hoping that this ‘dumsor’ will soon be resolved and we will not have to come to charging extra fees. There are threats of disconnection from the ECG which if these threats are implemented then of course we will have to find other means of recovery the money otherwise there is no way we can pay them vis-à-vis the current delay in reimbursement of National Health Insurance.”

Dr Ntodi told Citi News that the hospital is already battling to settle the GH¢1 million debt it owes the electricity Company of Ghana, which has serve them a disconnection notice.

According to Dr. Ntodi is funding the daily requirement of three drums of fuel for their 500 KVA generator which runs into over GH2, 400.

He said vital medical equipment have broken down affecting the quality of healthcare delivered at the facility.

He said “my engineers have advised following the breakdown of power boards for male wards B and C, air conditioners, refrigerators breaking down as a result of the surge in power when power is restored to disable the elevator system.

He added that “we repaired the elevator at a cost of GH52, 000 from the hospitals own internally generated fund but require a stabilizer of about a GH100, 000 which the hospital hasn’t got that money yet. So the fear to break the elevator again over this power situation has led to the shutdown of the system pending any support for the stabilizer.”

Dr. Ntodi pleaded with their creditors to bear with them as they are cash-strapped and cannot settle their debts immediately.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is calling on government to exempt hospitals from the current load shedding exercise.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana