KBTH: Govt urged to subsidise heart disease treatment in Ghana dp

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A Medical Laboratory Scientist and Public Health Professional at the National Cardiothoracic Centre in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Swithin Swaray, has called on the government to consider subsidising the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, to cut down the high cost of treatment for heart diseases in Ghana.

This comes after the National Cardiothoracic Centre at KBTH in its celebration of the immediate past World Heart Day celebration, appealed to the government to structure programs to enable free health care and accessibility for the treatment of heart diseases.

Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of a seminar dubbed, “New Trends in Cardiovascular Diseases, incidence and Health Agenda” at the Public Health Nurses School in Korle Bu, Dr. Swithin stated that treatment of heart diseases is expensive and almost unaffordable for the average Ghanaians.

“Yes, we can advocate for political support because the treatment for cardiovascular diseases, especially surgical intervention is quite expensive. Many patients and their relatives face excruciating financial hardship because of the high cost of cardiac surgeries and the unavailability of health insurance for such services. The average Ghanaian cannot afford the cost of heart surgery as most of the clients booked for surgeries at the Centre have to go soliciting funds. We have children being diagnosed earlier in their lives (congenital heart disease) but have not been able to have their intervention due to financial constraints. A few corporate bodies, NGOs and well-meaning individuals provide financial support as part of their corporate social responsibilities. Yet the coverage gap is still wide, and we will need political commitment and sustained financial strategies to address the situation.

“This is because almost everything needed for cardiac surgeries is imported. So, there are obvious cost implications. We can advocate for some support from the National Health Insurance Scheme. The appeal is for the scheme to absorb some percentage of the total cost to lessen the burden on patients and their relatives. This will go a long way to help the country realise the SDG target of 3.4 – reducing by one-third premature deaths from NCDs through prevention and treatment and promotion of mental health and well-being. We need the involvement of all stakeholders to address this cause of distress among the population,” he stated.

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