The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) has shut down 14 health facilities in the Upper East Region for failing to meet minimum regulatory standards.
The action forms part of government efforts to safeguard patient safety and protect the integrity of healthcare delivery under President John Dramani Mahama’s health sector reforms, including the free primary healthcare initiative.
The enforcement action forms part of an ongoing compliance exercise aimed at ensuring health facilities operate in accordance with the Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2011 (Act 829), and provide safe, quality healthcare services.
Deputy Registrar of HeFRA, Professor Vida Nyagre Yakong, said inspections uncovered multiple violations, including operating without licences, failure to renew licences, introducing unauthorised services, relocating facilities without regulatory approval, and operating without qualified practitioners in charge.
“So far, we have locked down about 14 facilities that are not practicing within what they’re supposed to and are not observing the standards required to deliver healthcare,” she said during an interview on Bolgatanga-based Dreamz FM’s Breakfast Show on Friday, monitored by KumasiMail.
Professor Yakong said HeFRA’s statutory responsibility is to license, inspect and monitor public, private and faith-based health facilities to ensure every Ghanaian has access to safe and quality healthcare.
She explained that facilities are assessed on infrastructure, equipment, staffing, infection prevention and control measures, accessibility, and compliance with the range of services approved under their licences.
The affected facilities include DBS Laboratory, Happy Diagnostics Laboratory, Uzziah Medical Laboratory, Health Net Medical Laboratory, Biomedical Laboratory and Scan, Edmida Laboratory and Scan, Lovely Ultrasound Scan Services, and two branches of Iqurate Medical Laboratory.
Naaga Health Centre, a public health facility in the Kasena-Nankana West District, was also partially closed after inspectors found some sections failed to meet the required regulatory standards.
Professor Yakong urged the public to verify that health facilities display valid HeFRA licences before seeking medical care, noting that licences must be renewed periodically following fresh inspections to ensure continued compliance.
She said the enforcement exercise will continue across the Upper East Region and cautioned operators of non-compliant facilities to regularise their operations or face sanctions under the law.
The latest crackdown forms part of broader government efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight of Ghana’s health sector to ensure healthcare policies and programmes, including the rollout of free primary healthcare, are delivered through facilities that meet nationally approved standards.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
