Several hospitals outsourced equipment maintenance at high cost due to weak in-house capacity – PAC
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has revealed that several public hospitals have been compelled to outsource the maintenance of medical equipment at significant cost due to inadequate in-house technical capacity, limited tools and weak logistical support for their Biomedical Engineering Units.
Presenting the Committee’s report to Parliament, the Chairperson of PAC, Hon. Abena Osei Asare, said the situation had placed an additional financial burden on health facilities and underscored the need to strengthen internal maintenance systems.
She made the disclosure while moving a motion for the adoption of the Committee’s report on the Auditor-General’s Performance Audit on the procurement and maintenance of medical equipment in the country’s teaching hospitals.
The Committee observed that although strengthening in-house biomedical engineering capacity remained the preferred long-term solution, the current constraints had forced many hospitals to rely on external service providers to maintain critical medical equipment.
The report, however, recommended that, as an interim measure and in line with the maintenance models adopted by the University of Ghana Medical Centre and Euracare, hospitals could continue to outsource the maintenance of capital-intensive medical equipment under favourable contractual arrangements to ensure value for money and uninterrupted healthcare delivery. Members from both the Majority and Minority sides of the House contributed to the debate before Parliament unanimously adopted the Committee’s report.
Story by Kekeli K. Blamey
