The Concerned Citizens of Tamale, a pressure group within the Tamale Municipality has criticized the Metropolitan Health Insurance Scheme for piling up debt at the Tamale Government Hospital. The Scheme owes the hospital GH¢1.1 million for services the institution offered to clients of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

According to the group the Tamale Government hospital is at the brink of collapse due to the dept owed it by the Metro Health Insurance Scheme.

Speaking to Patrick Ayumu on Citi Eye Witness News, Monday September 15, Mr Bashara Alhassan Dagbale called on the Metropolitan Health Insurance Scheme to expedite action on the payment of the debt to save the hospital from imminent collapse.

According to Mr Dagbale, the Concerned Citizens of Tamale have been on the ground monitoring events at the Tamale Government Hospital since April last 2007. He said the group in 2007 demonstrated against the neglect of the hospital by Government which was in a bad state then, and needed a major rehabilitation.

“Ever since, the group has not relented in keeping itself abreast with issues affecting the Tamale Teaching Hospital,” he said.

When asked how the group came by its information on internal issues affecting the hospital, the leader of the group said their sources of information are mostly officers at the hospital. The group however refused to mention specific names saying they fear they would be victimized.

He further stated that the plight of the Hospital has worsened with the introduction of the free maternal delivery scheme by government some few months ago.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital has refuted the allegations. Dr. Ken Sagoe said the allegations were untrue.

According to him, even though payments of claims under the insurance scheme have delayed, authorities of the scheme are in the process of facilitating payments to the hospital. He said the scheme does not owe the hospital because the periods for submitting and collecting claims have not elapsed yet.

He further stated that there is a back log of GH¢5 million owed the hospital by the scheme, but attributed the cause of delay to officials of the hospital, who failed to submit the claims on time. He said the Tamale Hospital has incurred a debt of GH¢14 million but that was not due to the National Health Insurance Scheme.