THE Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF) has intensified efforts to improve access to specialised healthcare by engaging key stakeholders to raise public awareness and strengthen partnerships to support eligible patients, particularly those suffering from chronic non-communicable diseases.
The engagement is aimed at educating the public on the fund’s mandate, eligibility requirements and support mechanisms, as well as informing communities about where to seek assistance when faced with serious health conditions.
Speaking at a regional stakeholder engagement in Accra yesterday, the Administrator of the GMTF, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said the initiative was necessary because the cost of specialised healthcare remained beyond the reach of many households, despite the availability of major hospitals and specialists in the Greater Accra Region.
She said families caring for people with serious chronic illnesses needed reliable information, clear processes and, where eligible, practical financial assistance.
Ms Darko-Opoku said the fund provided financial support to eligible patients requiring specialised treatment for chronic non-communicable diseases, while also supporting medical equipment and infrastructure, specialist training, research and innovation.
She noted that Greater Accra had become an important centre for specialised healthcare, with patients from other regions travelling to the capital to access expertise and treatment that might not be available closer to home.
She cited specialised diagnostic services, oncology and nuclear medicine projects as examples of interventions aimed at strengthening specialised healthcare.
Ms Darko-Opoku, however, stressed the need to strengthen healthcare capacity across the regions to reduce the burden on families who had to travel long distances to seek specialised treatment.
She urged health professionals to assist patients and their families in navigating the fund’s application and support processes, noting that their expertise was critical to ensuring that eligible patients received the assistance they needed.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, also called for stronger collaboration among healthcare stakeholders to ensure that interventions aimed at improving healthcare delivery responded effectively to the needs of the region.
She said closer coordination among the GMTF, health facilities, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), patients and other stakeholders was necessary to ensure that available resources were directed to areas where they would have the greatest impact.
Ms Ocloo noted that the Greater Accra Region, being the most populous and highly urbanised region in the country, continued to face significant and diverse healthcare needs.
She said the nationwide stakeholder engagement by the fund provided an opportunity for stakeholders to deepen their understanding of its mandate and operations, while sharing experiences, concerns and recommendations on how its interventions could better address healthcare needs.
BY PRINCE ADDO FRIMPONG
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