Government Takes Steps To Revamp Ambulance Service

The government has started the procurement process for acquisition of a fleet of 275 ambulances to revamp the national ambulance service.

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, said each constituency was going to be provided with an ambulance to enhance emergency response and improve health care services to the people.

He was addressing the annual general conference of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) in Koforidua.

“The role of GMA in healthcare 60 years on” was the theme chosen for the event.

The Vice President underlined the government’s unwavering determination to ensure that the people had access to quality health care.

It was in line with this it paid the GH¢1.2 billion unpaid National Health Insurance claims it inherited and initiated moves to prevent debt accumulation under the scheme.

He said they were going to engage the Accountant General to put in place measures to ensure that National Insurance levies collected were lodged into the National Health Insurance Accounts with the Bank of Ghana.

This way, there would always be funds for the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to run its activities.

Dr Bawumia added that the Management of the NHIA had been asked to move quickly to remove the stress that people had to go through during to renew their health insurance cards.

Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister of Health, said they were eager to ensure efficiency and sustainability of the health insurance scheme.

He said the success of the health intervention had made Ghana an example that the World Health Organization (WHO) had been recommending to other countries to understudy.

To help tackle corruption in the system, the Management of the NHIA had been given the powers to prosecute offenders.

Source: GNA