The inability to access healthcare due to poverty remains a challenge in many communities in the country.
Whereas the National Health Insurance Scheme exists as an avenue for financing some aspects of healthcare, there are many who still die from treatable illnesses due to lack of funds.
On the back of this, the Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, who is also a Deputy Health Minister, has resolved to bring affordable healthcare as close to residents as possible.
This gave birth to the “Doctor On-Call” initiative, with the idea of further decentralizing access to healthcare beyond CHPS Compounds.
“A CHPS Compound usually covers a population or an area that sometimes is very large. There are CHPS Compounds that see close to 15,000 people and 20,000 people. If you have health post that sees close to 20,000 people, definitely, access might be difficult. This [medical kiosk] has gone down further so it will be seeing to a population of about 5,000 or 4,000 which makes access very fluid and easy,” he said
“Sometimes, the CHPS compound runs like a clinic and they don’t have the luxury of time or space because of the numbers they attend to. But this [medical kiosk] will be able to do that and that will help to prevent our productive healthcare system in Ghana,, ” he added.
Dr Okoe Boye further explained that the mini health clinics, labelled “Medical Kiosks”, will offer residents medical advice, which he says is paramount to the early detection and treatment of any illness.
“People take consultation from friends because of lack of money sometimes. That is a barrier to accessing healthcare. What we’re going to have here is an opportunity for anyone at all to have access to medical advice. That is the most distinctive feature of this kiosk. It is my ambition to make sure that every Electoral Area has one of this [medical] kiosk – one electoral area, one medical kiosk. That is the vision.”
“It will be funded from the Office of the Member of Parliament. I’ll try and make sure that we have a fund set up so that well-wishers and citizens can contribute to make sure that this becomes sustainable; that is the only way to achieve sustainability. But now, it is being funded by the Office of the Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku.”
Each of the medical kiosks, to be dotted across the Ledzokuku Constituency, will consist of a 20-footer rectangular container, with outer shed enough to seat 20 people.
The facility will run a 24-hour service and will offer antenatal services, and reproductive and child health (RCH) services, as well as offer walk-in patients credible medical advice all at no cost to residents.