WE have been thinking aloud ever since the news broke that Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, has been flown to the United Kingdom (UK) to seek medical attention. And in our thinking aloud, one question that keeps coming up is: why are we always in a rush to fly our leaders outside for medical treatment?
WE agree one hundred per cent (100%) that the wellbeing of our leaders is the primary responsibility of the state. That means that at all time the state must ensure that our leaders are as fit as a fiddle to work to improve our lot.
HOWEVER, Weekend Today is concerned at the practice where our leaders tend to travel outside for medical care instead of using health facilities in this country. Oftentimes the impression create by such an action is that our doctors are not competent enough to take care of, especially our leaders. An impression we totally believe is erroneous!
WE must understand that the health bill of our leaders travelling abroad to seek for healthcare is borne by the Ghanaian taxpayer. And such bills are quoted in foreign currency depending on where our leaders would choose to go to seek for medical attention.
WE must state here that Weekend Today is not in anyway suggesting that those at the helm of affairs in this country, particularly the President and his Vice, do not deserve the best of healthcare. Far from that, and absolutely not the case!
RATHER our point is that there are equally competent doctors and state-of-art health facilities in this country that can take good care of the health needs of our leaders. So, therefore, our advice to our leaders is that they should not always be in a hurry to travel outside for medical treatment.
IT is in the light of the above that Weekend Today agrees with the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) there are competent doctors to take care of our leaders when offered the opportunity. The question therefore is: do our leaders offer Ghanaian doctors the opportunity for them to cure them of their ailments? Or it is a situation of a changed in status so let us use it for after all the bill would be borne by the state.
IT is true that our health system has challenges. But then should we not blame our leaders, who continue to pay lip-service to the country’s health system? In our view the blame must be placed squarely on the shoulders of our leaders.
IF our leaders prioritise health issues in this country, Weekend Today believes that we would not have to be flying them outside for medical treatment. That could however, be resorted to when it is obvious there is the urgent need for them to seek for healthcare outside.