- climbs to Level 4 of PharmAccess SafeCare assessment at Pentecost Hospital
Apostle Eric Nyamekye, Chairman of the Pentecost Church of Ghana, has hinted that plans are in place to erect more health facilities in other parts of the country toward the provision of quality healthcare for all.
“We are trying to impact the society, and we want to actually do our best to inspire the Pentecost Hospital and the other ones. We are still building a lot of the clinics in the North and in Ashanti, as well as Brong Ahafo Regions,” he said.
Apostle Nyamekye disclosed this when has expressed satisfaction with the Pentecost Hospital at Madina after the facility was ranked at level 4 on the PharmAccess SafeCare quality assessment programme.
According to him, the improvement in the rank of the hospital is a testament of the hospital’s productivity, and the commitment of the Church to excel in the area of quality healthcare delivery.
Receiving the honour after the hospital was ranked at Level 4, he acknowledged the delegation from PharmAccess Foundation and reiterated the Church’s vision of building more facilities to complement existing ones to serve the interest of the general public.
“I think that the relevance of the Church, apart from going to heaven, is the impact it makes on society. And it is holistic because we are here talking about health, that is why we are leaning to health. Otherwise, every sphere of society we want to influence” he pointed out.
Apostle Nyamekye added that the Pentecost Church will cooporate with PharmAccess to ultimately progress to Level 5 in the foundation’s quality assessment ratings.
Touching on the rationale behind the Church’s decision to undertake the construction of hospitals and other health-related facilities, he further explained that: “It is important for the body of Christ to extend its influence to other vital areas of society”.
“When you are talking about health, of course, the first unity that we have is actually strength. We are also talking about life. Because you cannot talk to people going to farm when they are all sick,” he said.
He continued that: “So we want to prioritise that and see that people are in good health status and that they can also influence the other spheres. For us, we are not bringing any dichotomy between the spiritual and the secular, we do not have that in the church”.
“It is the vision of the Church that is really inspiring us to affect the society,” he said.
Mr. Maxwell Antwi, Country Director of SafeCare, applauded the Pentecost Hospital for climbing to level 4 of assessment.
He was also hopeful of better prospects and charged the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, to strive to build at least one hospital facility which can climb to the ultimate peak of level 5.
He spoke about the progressive partnership between his outfit and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) toward quality healthcare delivery to the populace.
“We are also helping the NHIA to go digital with all their claims management. Currently, the NHIA reserves 30 million paper claims every month for processing. And I always say that if you need to process that, you need a whole army. So, we are helping them to move from manual processing of claims that they receive from the health service providers to electronic claims. We are happy to indicate that Pentecost Madina is fully on electronic claims management,” he added.
Reacting to the recognition by SafeCare, the Director at the Pentecost Hospital, Rev. Dr. Edward Ako Koranteng, also expressed his happiness, and thanked SafeCare for the honour extended to the hospital.
He also expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Church and expressed his willingness to help the hospital attain greater heights in future.
Dr. Ama Agyemang-Duah, Senior Medical Officer at the facility, also underscored the benefits the hospital has derived from its partnership with PharmAccess, and thanked the staff for working assiduously to improve its ratings.
Dr. Philip Sarpong, Head of Medical Services at the hospital also expressed joy about the recognition, and expressed optimism about the future of the hospital.
“With state-of-the-art equipment and a dedicated staff, the Pentecost Hospital at Madina, which is part of one of other hospitals under the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), serves hundreds of indigenes who frequent the facility for their medical needs,” he said.
He noted that the assessment by SafeCare will go a long way to boost the hospital’s reputation and profile in the health services delivery industry.
“This is because, according to the PharmAccess Country Director, Mr. Maxwell Antwi, the SafeCare programme under the PharmAccess Foundation is internationally recognised by the United Nation’s International Society for Quality,” he added.
Apart from the Pentecost Hospital at Madina, other health facilities under CHAG have also attained level 4 of the PharmAccess SelfCare.
They include the St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Assin-Fosu; Holy Family Hospital, Techiman; and the St. Joseph Hospital, Nkwanta.
About PharmAccess Foundation and SafeCare
The goal of PharmAccess is to make inclusive health markets work in sub-Saharan Africa. Realising that the first wealth is health.
PharmAccess challenges the notion that exclusion from essential healthcare is an inevitable consequence of living in poorer countries, and identifies the opportunities and partners – both private and public – needed to bring about holistic transformation in failing health markets.
Focusing on the very root causes that hamper healthcare financing and investments toward equitable and quality healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, the organisation works as an innovator and catalyst for pragmatic solutions that can be adopted, adapted to, and scaled by partners.
PharmAccess also works with an integrated approach that addresses both the demand and supply side of the healthcare system, and uses the opportunities that mobile technology and data provide to leapfrog development in health markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
The organisation also aims to inspire viable and resilient health markets that provide access to care for millions of people in Africa.
Through public-private partnerships, PharmAccess focuses on promoting basic health insurance plans and other innovative demand-side financing options to protect people from financial hardship; introducing quality standards and improvement methodologies (SafeCare) for healthcare providers to increase transparency and stimulate efficiencies; facilitating and stimulating loans, business support, and investments for private healthcare providers; and innovating value-based healthcare solutions and financing, using data to empower healthcare consumers, patients, doctors and financiers alike. PharmAccess cherishes partnerships in achieving these tasks.
On the other hand, the goal of SafeCare is to inspire the improvement of quality and safety in healthcare delivery through innovative approaches such as the use of digital solutions.
Providers in emerging healthcare markets often face very basic problems: staff and supply shortages, inadequate infrastructure, and poor access to potable water and electricity. Setting and improving quality standards in these challenging environments is the central mission of SafeCare. The ambition of SafeCare is to create a global platform of organisations, and people willing to pursue innovative approaches to improve clinical quality, using transformative digital solutions to challenge the status quo and strengthen trust in the healthcare system.
This is achieved through its three core values of transparency, collaboration, and building value.
In the last decade, SafeCare shares results, stories and learnt lessons, and provides real-time data on the scale, scope, and quality of services – all in the bid to improve the quality and safety of healthcare delivery.
By collaborating through global and national partnerships, SafeCare intends to create the greatest possible impact with minimal resources.
