KNUST Hospital suspends services to NHIS subscribers

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Hospital in Kumasi has since November 1, this year, suspended services to subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The hospital has subsequently resorted to the cash-and-carry system.

This is due to the inability of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to pay the GH¢1 million claims owed the hospital for services it rendered to the scheme holders from January to September, this year.

Confirming the decision of the hospital to the Daily Graphic, the Director of Health Services of KNUST, Dr Yaw Bio, said although the hospital would have preferred to continue offering services to its clients, “The real truth is that we just can’t.”

He explained that the hospital was indebted to its suppliers “who are on our neck demanding their money and have refused to advance more credit facilities to us.

Ebola burden

According to the director, as a result of the Ebola outbreak in the sub-region, the hospital had to increase the use of some of its consumables such as gloves and reagents to avoid cross infections.

He said the hospital wrote to the NHIA last month informing it of the hospital’s decision to stop providing services to subscribers of the scheme effective November 1, 2014, if it failed to pay the claims the hospital had submitted to it.

However, he said, “Nobody responded to our letter and we were compelled to suspend services to the subscribers.”

Enough cash

Dr Bio said until the hospital had enough money to pay its debtors and received new supplies to run the facility, “We would not be able to attend to scheme holders.

“We need to pay for what we owe to be able to ask for new credit facility,” he stated.

On the average, he said, the hospital attended to 400 patients daily 90 per cent of whom were on the NHIS.

“Aside the reagents, disinfectants, gloves, gauze, syringes, needles and other consumables that the hospital uses, it also buys fuel to power its generator whenever the national grid goes off, “And we use 95 per cent of the Internally Generated Funds to run the facility,” he added.

For these reasons, Dr Bio said, when the NHIA failed to pay the hospital’s claims, its operations became greatly affected.

The hospital is one of the few in the metropolis which did not take part in  the strike declared by the 12 labour unions, including the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) to compel the government to allow them to manage their tier two pension schemes.  

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Hospital is the second largest hospital in the Ashanti Region.