Tamale, Aug. 31, GNA - Over 93 percent of hospital attendance in the Northern Region are card bearing members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and now enjoy better service due to prompt payment of claims in the region.

Registered members of the scheme in the region stands at 1,713,414, representing 69.4 percent, while total payment made to the health providers by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) as of January to July 2010 is about GHc 19.4 million.

Mr Moses Bukari Mabengba, the Northern Regional Minister, said this at the turn of the Northern Region's 93Meet the Press" on Monday.

He said as a result of the prompt payment of claims, new structures had sprung up at the hospitals and clinics as well as procurement of new drugs.

He said the as a result of these improvements, the NHIA in the region was in a good position to implement the one-time payment policy of the government come January 2011, adding that core partners of the scheme are being sensitized and briefed on the policy.

On the provision of health facilities in the region, the Regional Minister said these had increased remarkably from 133 in 2001 to 269 in 2010.

He said the region could now boast of 21 hospitals, 86 health centres, 40 clinics, 109 CHPS compounds, seven Polyclinics, five Maternity homes and one Leprosarium.

Mr Mabengba said the five new polyclinics yet to be inaugurated are in Chereponi, Janga, Karaga, Kpandai and Tatale.

He said five doctors posted to the region this year had failed to report and blamed the refusal of medical personnel to accept postings to the region on the perceived violent nature that people had about the region and therefore urged the people to maintain the peace the region was now enjoying.