The growing crisis at Phebe Hospital has exposed “deep failure the healthcare management system. For that reason, former Bong County Electoral District #4 representative candidate, Jonah Nulee Togbah, has called on the government to take full responsibility and establish a government-owned regional referral hospital.
Togbah’s call comes amid continued tensions at Phebe Hospital, where an ongoing labor dispute has disrupted medical services, and created widespread concern among residents, who rely on the facility as a major healthcare center.
He said, the repeated crises at Phebe demonstrate that the current public-private management arrangement has failed to provide the stability and accountability required for a national healthcare institution.
Togba warned: “To allow uncertainty to continue at Phebe places patients at risk, and exposes the weakness of the healthcare system. “The government should build its own regional hospital and disengage from a private health facility that will always create uncertainty in the lives of our people.”
Togba disclosed how he had previously submitted a proposal to health authorities to construct a 150-bed regional hospital, including an architectural design to improve healthcare delivery in central Liberia.
He wants the government to stop depending on a management structure that has repeatedly failed to prevent disruptions one of the most important referral hospitals.
“The private-public management structure of Phebe seems not to be working. Every protest at Phebe undermines and risks the lives of our citizens.”
Togba also questioned why the Ministry of Health reportedly lacks full authority over senior administrators at Phebe despite the fact that most employees, including senior managers, receive salaries from the government.
“Almost 99 percent of the people working at Phebe are government employees, including the senior managers. But the Ministry doesn’t have the authority to hire or dismiss those senior managers even though they receive salaries from government.”
Togbah’s comments have added fresh pressure on authorities to reconsider the future of Phebe’s governance structure, and develop a long-term solution to healthcare challenges.