MINISTER SETTLES DELIVERY BILLS OF FIVE WOMEN ( Daily Graphic Tuesday May 20 PAGE 11)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
FIVE newly born babies and their mothers who were being detained at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital because their parents could not settle the cost of delivery have now been released.Their release followed the settlement of their accumulated bills by the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, last Friday.The babies, all males, and their mothers, were being detained, pending full payment of their hospital bills which amounted to GH¢ 777.10. None of the mothers had actually registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).The deputy regional minister presented GH¢ 800 to the hospital administration to offset the cost.The plight of the babies came to light when Mrs Chigabatia toured the hospital as part of the activities marking this year's International Day of the Family.The minister expressed surprise at the fact that in spite of the numerous campaigns for people to register with the health insurance scheme, some of them had still not heeded the advice.Mrs Chigabatia urged all to register with the scheme to enable them to access free medical treatment, including safe motherhood and to prevent detentions and their attendant embarrassment at the hospitals.She also asked men to be responsible by taking good care of their wives and children. Receiving the money, the Hospital Administrator, Mr George Atampugre, thanked the minister for her kind gesture.He said under normal circumstances, detaining babies and their mothers until parents paid their bills was not the best, but the hospital authorities were forced to adopt such a system as a way of ensuring that parents honoured their obligations. "As a hospital, we have no right to detain people because they cannot pay, but we need the money to run the hospital, because funding is now more and more based on our internally generated funds," Mr Atampugre said.He also advised people to take advantage of the NHIS to avoid such embarrassing situations.The Matron of the Hospital, Madam Rose Alobase, on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed her appreciation to the minister for showing her concern for the women and more particular the newly born babies.