The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) says it will begin a new star rating system for health facilities across the country next year.
Registrar of the Authority, Dr Winfred Korletey Baah, says the move will help push quality and improve public confidence in healthcare delivery.
He said the current system only groups facilities by type and level and does not measure the quality of care patients receive. He explained that this gap makes it difficult to compare facilities or identify those giving better services.
“Currently, we don’t have any system that grades health facilities, but we have a structure,” he said. According to him, the existing arrangement simply places facilities in categories.
“It starts from the basics, which is the CHPS compound. Then from there, you go to the health centre, go to the clinic, poly clinic. We have primary hospital, secondary hospital, tertiary and then quaternary.”
He stressed that these classifications are helpful but not enough. They do not show how well the facilities are performing. They also do not guide patients on the quality standards they can expect.
Dr Baah said that is what will change next year. “From next year, we are going to start with a star rating system, and that has to do with quality services.”
He said the new system will focus strictly on the standard of care. It will measure how facilities treat patients, follow procedures, and maintain safety and hygiene.
He said the ratings will also encourage facilities to improve because the public will know which ones deliver the best services.
HeFRA believes the reform will promote transparency. The Authority also expects it to help raise the overall standard of healthcare across the country.
Dr Baah said the star rating will be a major step in giving patients the information they need to make better choices.
The Registrar said HeFRA is ready for the rollout and will work with all facilities to ensure smooth implementation.