He emphasized that health facilities will not be able to independently cover the cost of power, and any attempt to do so will burden the patients who patronize these facilities.

These concerns come after the Electricity Company of Ghana issued a recent disconnection notice to over 90 health facilities across Ghana for failing to settle their electricity bills.

Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang recounts an incident where a task force from the Electricity Company of Ghana disconnected power to a health facility in the Ashanti Region while premature babies were in incubators.

He said such actions not only disrupt the operations of health facilities but also put the lives of patients at risk.

The Electricity Company of Ghana recently threatened to disconnect power to 91 hospitals due to their outstanding debts.

In the Ashanti Region, 15 hospitals, including the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, received disconnection notices as they collectively owed over GHC50 million Ghana Cedis.

Despite engagement between the Ministry of Health and the Management of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Dr. Tinkorang emphasizes the need for a national dialogue to permanently address the issue.

He spoke at the 2023 Annual Performance Review of the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate in Kumasi.

“The government will need to sit down with the Ministry of Health because as it is now, the facilities themselves will not be capable of paying the full cost of electricity in this country. And I think that is what the authorities should understand.

“If I’m supposed to use Komfo Anokye for now, as at now they are supposed to pay GHC27 million, that GHC27 million is to be paid by those who are purchasing the service and if you put additional cost on the patients, they will not be able to bear the cost. It’s not workable.

“Either the government decides to pay or put the cost on the patients and that cannot sustain the insurance. The reason we are calling on the government to pay is that the facilities available will not be capable of paying full electricity bills, they can support.

“Some of them are paying but they cannot pay the full cost of electricity. It will be immoral to disconnect electricity. They will have to come again. Anything they disconnect we engage them, and the bill is still there. We need a national dialogue on some of these things.”