Member of Parliament for Keta, Kwame Gakpey, is urging the Ministry of Health to investigate and punish officials of various public hospitals charging pregnant women unapproved fees.
Mr Gakpey described as appalling and disgusting, the practice uncovered in a Corruption Watch Documentary ‘Pay or Die.’
Despite provisions in the National Health Insurance Scheme Act that pregnant women receive free maternal care, some staff of the 37 Military Hospital, Mamprobi Hospital, and Maamobi General Hospital were captured in the 37-minute video charging them fees.
Some pregnant women were left unattended when they were unable to pay.
Mr Gakpey is urging the Health Ministry not to ignore the revelations in the documentary because the illegal practice is widespread.
“I think with this revelation, the government should move on swiftly with the Ministry of Health and our Ghana Health Service to these facilities and then do an internal investigation and use internal processes to actually punish the perpetrators. That is the way to go,” he told Joy News.
According to him, the service providers have no excuse since the patients have renewed health insurance cards and are paying through that.
He added that the patients are being exploited as a result of internal arrangements.
The Keta MP said, “if the resources are available, the appropriate authorities should talk to the Ministry, Members of Parliament, government executive and then we see how best to put pressure on them to support the course but you can’t decide on your own unceremoniously, capriciously and then go ahead and be levying them cash and carry.”