The management of St Anne's Hospital in Damongo has raised concerns about the possible closure of the facility if the electricity supply is not restored promptly.
NEDCO, the power distribution company, disconnected the hospital's electricity on May 4, 2023, due to outstanding debt.
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According to the hospital's management, it is the responsibility of the government, specifically the Ministry of Finance, to pay for the hospital's electricity as they are not allowed to bill patients for this service.
Dr Nelson Agboadoh, the Medical Director of the hospital, expressed disappointment that NEDCO disregarded a communication from the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) outlining an agreement with the government, the finance and energy ministries, and the power distributors, which stated that health facilities should not be disconnected.
“The facility itself does not pay electricity bills, we submit the bills to the government to pay, so we don't bill patients for electricity. Recently we were told we owe so much so on 27th April, CHAG wrote to all facilities that the association, government, and power distributors to exempt us from the exercise but NEDCO in Damongo went ahead and disconnected us,” Dr Agboadoh explained.
He further warned that if the power supply is not restored, the hospital will be forced to shut down.
“If the electricity is not connected, the hospital will come to a halt, we can't do anything because we can't sustain the buying of fuel, so we will all return to wherever we came from to work [because] there is nothing to do here,” Dr Agboadoh emphasized.
The closure of St Anne's Hospital would have a significant impact on healthcare services in Damongo and the surrounding areas.
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