NCD patients spend GH¢1000 monthly on medications

By Patrick Biddah

Despite their precarious old age and retirement from active work, Non Communicable Disease ( NCD) patients are spending between GH¢500 and GH¢1000 on their medication according to a study.

Under the theme, “Assessing Economic Burden Of Living With NCDs in Ghana” , the study was instituted by the Ghana Non Communicable Diseases Alliance.

Conducted in the Eastern and the Greater Accra regions,  the study also revealed  that 43% of deaths are linked to NCDs.

NCDs, are diseases such as diabetes, cancer , hypertension obesity and mental health among others .

It, therefore emerged from the study that despite persons living with NCD spending close to GH¢1000 a month, they continue to suffer the headache of assessing healthcare.

For example, it takes a patient living with NCD to travel to the main district facility about two hours which is compounded by the long stay at the Out Patient Department for over 6 hours.

The report, which was launched in Accra by the Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Franklin Asiedu- Bekoe, revealed among other things that it takes the ingenuity and sacrifices for people living with NCDs to meet their daily medical requirements and prescriptions.

In view of these challenges, the report recommended the setting up of more health infrastructure needs to meet the demands of these patients.

But a Senior Revenue Officer with the Ghana Revenue Authority, Dr Alex Kombat, expressed the worry that there is nothing much left for development after compensation , loans and interest are paid by government.

“ We raise Ghc8bn every month for the state but after we pay salaries and loans, there is nothing left to build the needed health infrastructure”, he said.

The report further made a case for the need the National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS) to be uncapped in order to allow for expansion of  the drug net under the NHIS.

Speaking in that regard, the Acting Director In-charge of Claims at the National Health Authority (NHIA), Dr Abigail Nyarko Cudjoe Derkyi- Kwarteng, made a number of revelation.

For instance, she said NHIA has a number of drugs it covers but hospitals for whatever reason refuse to supply those drugs when it is prescribed for patients.

Malaria test, PSA test for the checking of cancer, she further revealed are all covered under the NHIS and wondered why patients are charged for such tests at the hospital.

She therefore called on patients to take note of these revelation and should be  equipped with such knowledge.

The NHIA, she said is moving towards a more pragmatic health care financing.

“For the past two years now, the NHIA has been looking at a preventive approach rather than curative “, she noted.

On his part, the National Coordinator for the Ghana NCD Alliance, Mr Labram Musah, commended the setting up of wellness clinics by government and eventually highlighting the issues of NCDs.

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