The Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana (AHSAG), held a conference to address several challenges threatening the countrys healthcare delivery system and hindering its progress towards achieving universal health coverage by 2030.

 

The 46th annual general conference, which took place from December 5-8, 2023, focused on the theme “Appointment of Hospital Administrators: A New Dawn in the Health Administration Profession Towards Achieving Universal Health Coverage.”

 

The conference highlighted various issues affecting healthcare delivery, including the high number of health professionals leaving the country, medical malpractice, access to dialysis services, payment of electricity bills by health facilities, and the prioritization of health research.

 

According to AHSAG, Ghanas high rate of health professionals departing for better opportunities puts both universal health coverage by 2030 and the provision of high-quality healthcare at risk. They implore the Ministry of Health to provide funding authorization and reduce employee attrition.

 

The conference also called on hospital managers to put in place adequate measures to prevent or at least minimize the incidence of medical negligence and advocated for sensitization among personnel.

 

Highlighting Ghanas significant challenge in providing dialysis services due to galamsey activities, they suggested that all regional hospitals have dialysis centers and promote public education on environmental and health impacts.

 

They also called for an urgent review of the electricity bill offloading directive to Health Facilities, citing grid disconnections by ECG. Additionally, they urged the re-negotiation of tariffs with the National Health Insurance Authority.

 

AHSAG also advocated for increased priority in health research due to resource constraints, urging the Ministry of Health to allocate resources and publish findings in reputable journals for wider healthcare access.