From right: Dr Yao Yeboah, Dr Nsiah-Asare and the committee members
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) Council has inaugurated a five-member expert committee to draw up strategies aimed at promoting medical tourism in the country.
The committee members include Dr Akoreyea Kaba, Director of Institutional Care Division at GHS, Col. Gordon Alexis Obiri Appiah, Ben A. Nkansah and Romana Sarpong Omaboe, GHS Council representatives and Dr Emmanuel Srofenyo, Medical Director of Ridge Regional Hospital.
They have been tasked to produce a report within the next three months on how the country’s ultra-modern hospital infrastructure can be used to attract direct foreign exchange.
Other responsibilities of the committee include the complication of major procedures that can be managed locally and their competitive costs, production of a register of local specialists and consultants, as well as health professionals in the diaspora, needs assessment of the health facilities and preparation of a final LI and regulations for ratification by the GHS Council.
Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director General of the GHS, in a remark at the official inauguration, stated that the country in recent years had commissioned new hospitals and rehabilitated health facilities such as the Ridge Hospital in Accra with the state-of-the-art technology that can be used to kick-start the project in Ghana.
He mentioned that under the project, quality of care will be ensured so that Ghanaians will not only receive the best of healthcare services but also stop travelling outside the country for some specialised care.
“It is the conviction of the GHS Council that the establishment of the medical tourism in this country will attract patients from West Africa sub-region in particular to receive the needed medical treatment in accredited health facilities in this country,” Dr Yao Yeboah, GHS Council Chairman, said.
Dr Yeboah explained that once the committee presents their report, the Council will kick start the project using the Ridge Regional Hospital and then scale up to other hospitals in the country.
“It is envisaged that upon completion of this exercise, the GHS will have a comprehensive operational policy capable of operationalising the medical tourism in Ghana under the auspices of the GHS,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the committee members, Col. Gordon Alexis Obiri Appiah expressed their willingness to execute the task entrusted into their hands.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri