The Acting Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA), Winfred Korletey Baah, has urged the public to report any health facility operating without a valid HeFRA license.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, October 9, Mr. Baah cautioned Ghanaians against seeking medical care at unlicensed facilities, stressing that it poses serious risks to patients’ safety.
“It is even an offence under the law not to display your licence openly for patients to see. Every health facility — whether a hospital, lab, or pharmacy — must have its HeFRA licence displayed where patients can easily identify it.”
The appeal follows HeFRA’s closure of 17 health facilities across the country for operating under unsafe and unapproved conditions.
Mr. Baah warned that even facilities with expired licenses are considered unsafe and should not be patronised.
He also encouraged citizens to play an active role in sanitising the health sector by providing tip-offs to the agency.
“If you go to any facility and don’t see a HeFRA license, please report it. Our contact numbers are available everywhere — just give us a tip-off. Many of our enforcement actions come from public reports,” he said.
According to the Acting Registrar, the agency’s ongoing clampdown is part of efforts to “reset the health sector” and ensure Ghanaians receive only safe, quality care.
“You can be the richest or poorest person in Ghana, but when there’s an emergency, you might be taken to the nearest facility. If that facility is a quack one, that could be the end,” he cautioned.
Mr. Baah, therefore, appealed for public cooperation to help HeFRA “sanitise the system” and prevent needless deaths and harm caused by unregulated healthcare providers.
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