By Marie Aziz Tunde
Arrangements have been made for the reimbursement of cost incurred by the various health facilities who took care of 348 victims of the Appiatse explosion which also displaced hundreds within the Community.
Already a directive has been given to fully refund payment by relatives of two of the victims who paid some money for the procurement of some medical items which had run out during the emergency.
The Western Region Director of the Ghana Health Services, GHS, Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah to Dr. Ofori Yeboah, said the move is in compliance with a declaration by the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawamia during his visit to the victims on Friday, January 21 to the effect that the government will bear the cost of medical expenses of the victims.
Dr. Ofori Yeboah made this known at an emergency press briefing held at the Regional Health Directorate at Sekondi in the Western Region.
According to the Western Regional Director of the Ghana Health services, Dr. Ofori Yeboah, victims of the Appiatse explosion are receiving free treatments for various degrees of injuries at hospitals across the Region.
He said currently, expenditures are being collated from all health facilities where victims were taken care of, for immediate reimbursement.
“As you can imagine, in the early stage of the emergency, the focus was rightly on ensuring that blood and other critical life-saving items were mobilised for the injured.
We are now collating expenditures from the various health facilities for immediate reimbursement,” he stated.
Current state of victims:
On the conditions of victims, Dr. Ofori Yeboah said, most people are in stable condition.
According to him, all but two out of the 348 cases seen have either been discharged or are stable in various hospitals.
Dr. Ofori Yeboah added that a health post has been set up at the internally displaced persons site at Bogoso to provide essential primary health care services, Psycho-social support he said, has also been arranged for the survivors and their relatives.
A team of ENT Specialists have also been sent to conduct hearing assessment while Disease Surveillance activities are ongoing.
