Politicians Urged To Patronize Healthcare Service In Ghana

Of the many things that worry the minds of well-meaning Ghanaians, is the tumbling confidence of politicians in the efficacy of Ghana’s healthcare system.

With a faction of the public launching a scathing attack on politicians for abandoning hospitals in Ghana for medical assistance abroad, the General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Frank Serebour has urged Ghanaian politicians to patronise healthcare services within the country.

According to him, Ghana can boast of some of the finest medical practitioners who provide excellent medical attention to its citizenry.

In an interview with Kumasi based Abusua FM, the GMA Vice President was confident that in spite of government’s failure to invest in Ghana’s healthcare system, the country has enough modern and state-of-the-art facilities to meet the health challenges of its people.

“I am worried because it has become the practice that anytime a politician is sick, he or she is easily flown outside the country for medical treatment and a critical example is that of our late finance minister, Kwadwo Baah Wiredu who was taken to South Africa,” Dr Serebour recalled.

He added: “But I can tell you that, the procedure our late Finance Minister (Kwadwo Baah Wiredu) undertook in South Africa is done more than twenty times a day at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi here and no single death has been recorded”, he revealed.”

This response follows the decision of government to fly the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the United Kingdom for medical treatment after taking ill last week.

Dr. Serebuor therefore concluded that, “our politicians do not have confidence in the healthcare system they created for our people and it’s a cause for worry.”

He said, “Over the years, politicians have failed to do the right investment in our health sector so they have the notion that we don’t have the needed facilities and machines to treat them.

“Sometimes people die because of Oxygen so you ask yourself what if I go to such hospitals and there are no Oxygens, how do we survive since the government hasn’t provided enough to cater for its growing health needs,” he said.

By:Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]