Residents of Sherigu, a community in the Bolgatanga municipality have bemoaned shortage of drugs at the community health center.
The Sherigu Health Center is a referral center serving three Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds. However, the health center has not been supplied with drugs adequately over months now due to the National Health Insurance Scheme’s (NHIS’s) failure to pay arrears due the facility.
As a result, clients are often asked by health workers to go and buy drugs although their ailments are often covered by the NHIS.
“Common paracetamol [if] you visit there they have to prescribe for you. Anytime there is a challenge there, we approach it on how to help solve it but to go and buy drugs for the facility is not our responsibility. So I think government has to do something about it” a concerned citizen, Robert Alemya pleaded.
Assembly man of Kumblingo electoral area, Johnson Ayamga stated that “most of the CHPS compounds around the community reports to this health center but the shortage of drugs here is affecting health delivery at those facilities too”.
But speaking exclusive with A1radioonline.com, In-charge of the Sherigu Health Center, Margaret Banaadong said the health center is indebted by the Health Insurance Scheme to the tune of GHc 70,000.
“The medical stores that we collect drugs also owe the suppliers and so if we go there for drugs, they reject us.”
According to Madam Banaadong the shortage of drugs to the health center is affecting health delivery. “When they [patients] come with complains and if the complains matches with the drugs we give them but if it is not there then we write it for them” The failure on the part of NHIA to reimburse monies due to the Sherigu Health Center also affects record keeping of patients. The health center at the moment has no new record folders for patients who reports there for the first time.
“When you report here for the first time and your condition is not critical we refer you to where you can get a folder for treatment of your ailments”
By: Joshua Asaah|A1radioonline.com|Ghana
