The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) has initiated an aggressive, nationwide enforcement exercise to compel all public and private health facilities to comply with the mandatory minimum standards for safe and quality healthcare.

The launch of the exercise resulted in the immediate closure of eight non-compliant health facilities in the Greater Accra Region.

The nationwide crackdown is being executed in strict accordance with the Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2011 (Act 829), the landmark legislation designed to standardize and regulate health care provision and shield the public from dangerous practices.

Dr Winfred Korletey Baah, the Acting Registrar of HeFRA, who announced the operation, described it as part of the Agency’s mission to “reset” health regulation.

“The enforcement operation, which involves inspection, monitoring, and the ultimate closure of non-compliant facilities, began in the Greater Accra Region,” he stated.

In total, nine health facilities were closed down for regulatory breaches, including operating without a license and having expired licenses.

Among the facilities shut down were the Clinic Pharma Limited at the Madina Market at the Madina Market, the Advance Diagnostics Centre on the Adenta Road, and the U Bethesda Clinic at Ashale Botwe.

The inspection teams from HeFRA were accompanied by Ghana Police Service personnel to effect the closures.

Dr. Baah noted that the enforcement teams encountered varied responses, while some heads of the affected facilities promised to immediately remedy the situation, others absconded before HeFRA officials arrived.

The Acting Registrar emphasised the gravity of the offences.

He explained that HeFRA typically engaged non-compliant facilities first, noting that many were recently issued administrative fines and given a two-week grace period to regularize their operations.

He, however, stressed that some facilities have been “very recalcitrant,” leaving the Agency no choice but to close them down, especially where grossly inadequate infrastructure and unlicensed practitioners posed a direct risk of “harm to be caused.”

Dr. Baah warned that a person who owned or operated an unlicensed facility, or failed to renew a license, commits an offence under Section 23 of Act 829.
“Persistent offenders who refused to regularise their operations will face prosecution, with cases being transferred to law enforcement bodies for court action and prescribed penalty fines,” he said.

Following the initial phase in the capital, Dr. Baah announced a clear schedule for the continuation of the crackdown.

He said HeFRA inspection teams are set to move into the Ashanti Region, the Volta Region, and the Eastern Region next week.

Dr Baah emphasised that the operation was a comprehensive national effort, with “other teams going to the other regions” simultaneously to ensure full compliance across the country.

The Agency reassured the public that patient safety remained paramount during the closures, with HeFRA teams accompanied by ambulances to ensure that in patients were safely referred to the nearest licensed facility.

HeFRA urged all health facility operators to promptly secure or renew their licenses and ensure that their services adhered to the requisite minimum standards to avoid closure and legal sanctions.