The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) has shut down 18 health facilities in the Ashanti Region for operating below acceptable standards. 

The two-day exercise undertaken by officials of HeFRA was part of the agency’s mandate to enforce compliance and promote order within the nation’s healthcare system.

The facilities shut down were mostly unregistered, unlicensed by HeFRA and were operating and rendering services to unsuspecting public for some years.

Last Monday, the facilities that shut down were RASHBILL Eyecare, ANKHOR Diagnostics, Guinness Ghana Clinic, which was operating without a licence since 2019, and Allen Urological and Surgical Centre (Allen Clinic).

Others were Florence's Maternity Home, which was operating without a licence since 2019, Exquisite Medical Imaging and Health Centre, Paradise Clinic (Homecare for the Elderly), also operating without a licence since 2019 and Michmit Clinic and Maternity Home.

Last Tuesday,  health facilities that suffered a similar fate were the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Clinic, the only public facility, the SAMRID Eye Clinic, which was unregistered and unlicensed and has been operating since 2021, Strong Eye Care, Radiant Eyen and Daniscan Diagnostic Centre.

The rest were Crystal Vision Eye Centre, Precision Diagnostic Centre, BSAM Med Lab, BENMAS Laboratory and MATFLEX Physiotherapy Clinic.

Act

The Health Institutions and Facilities Act 2011, Act 829, which established the HeFRA, empowers it to shut down any health facility which does not meet standards established by the law.

Per the law, a person shall not operate a health facility unless it is licensed under the act.

Enforcement

The team, comprising officers of HeFRA and personnel of the Ghana Police Service, visited facilities unannounced and closed down the affected ones  operating below acceptable standards.

The Guinness Ghana Clinic, located within the company’s premises at Ahinsan, failed to renew its operational licence since 2019, which resulted in its eventual shutdown.

At the KMA Clinic, the facility, which has been operating for several years without a valid licence, was also shut down, a clear violation of the agency’s regulatory standards.

Addressing the media, the Head of Public Relations, HeFRA, Christabel Eyram Nuhoho, said HeFRA was mandated by the Act establishing it to regulate all public and private health facilities in the country.

As a result, she stated that any facility operating without a licence could be shut down by HeFRA in the public interest. She cited, for instance, the KMA Clinic, which the agency had been engaging for some time, as it had been operating for several years without a licence.

She said there was a directive from the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service for all facilities to get the HeFRA licence, including the KMA clinic, and since then, “we have been engaging in that process.

“They might have taken some steps, but as of today, that we are in the region, to close down facilities, KMA clinic is not licensed, resulting in its closure,” she stated, adding, “We do not take pleasure in closing them down since they are offering essential service to society”.

Quality care

For his part, Dr Agyemang Badu said the move was to ensure that quality healthcare services were delivered in facilities that were operating within required standards.

He stressed, “We expect that people will do the right thing by making sure that they use the right personnel, have the required licence, and expeditiously renew their licence in their quest to provide services to the public”.