The Brong-Ahafo Regional Hospital in Sunyani is currently in a mess, following alleged factionalism that has emerged among the management staff.
Some concerned members of staff at the hospital have expressed grave concern over the manner in which the facility is being administered under the direction of the Medical Director, Dr. Jacob Abebrese.
The concerned members of staff have accused the Medical Director of gross mismanagement, seeking his own selfish interests, and resorting to misplaced priorities in the handling of affairs at the facility, which, they claim, could lead to the collapse of the hospital, if urgent steps are not taken by the advisory board to forestall the situation.
The concerned members of staff alleged that since taking over the administration of the facility in 2009, he had embarked upon some projects which were not immediately viable and important, as compared to others, such as the construction of a garage at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) section, and converting the A&E doctors’ rest room into an office.
However, Dr. Jacob Abebrese, when contacted, described the attitude of the ‘so-called concerned staff” as dishonorable, explaining that the group was made up of a few people at the facility, who desire to occupy the position of Medical Director of the facility.
According to Dr. Abebrese, those people were trying to damage his reputation and make him unpopular in the eyes of the public, so that he would be relieved of his post.
The Medical Director alleged that there was a political power play in the whole situation, saying, “You would be surprised to note that partisan politics have sharply divided the staff at the facility, with Dr. Emmanuel Amponsah leading the crusade.”
According to him, Dr. Emmanuel Amponsah holds a PhD, and believes he is the best person for the medical director position, however, the approach being used by him was wrong.
Dr. Emmanuel Amponsah is the Vice Chairperson of the Concerned Staff Union of the facility, whose members are accusing the Medical Director of gross mismanagement at the Regional Hospital.
Dr. Abebrese asked The Chronicle to independently visit the facility to observe things to ascertain whether the allegations by the concerned staff were true or not.
The concerned staff accuse Dr. Abebrese of having gone ahead to build a doctors’ rest room close to the Gynecology Department, went for a grader to level roads at the medical village and nurses quarters, all at a huge cost, instead of concentrating on the leakages at the nurses quarters at the village, which had been in a very bad condition over the years. Dr. Abebrese was also accused of constructing a chop bar close to the exit gate.
Besides, the aggrieved staff indicated to The Chronicle that the Medical Director went for an expensive V8 Toyota Land Cruiser, apart from the use of another official Toyota Hilux vehicle at his disposal, while the hospital lacked money to purchase petty items such as Electro cardiogram (ECG) machine paper, half strength paediatric intravenous (IV) fluids, and common things like Amoxicillin capsules, adding that the Anaesthetic machine at the hospital had even broken down.
They claimed that the cost of running the two vehicles for the year ending 2012 was GH¢38,000, at the time the hospital was owing a landlord for some months now, for which the person had taken the hospital to court, and was demanding eviction, which, in effect, would rid doctors of accommodation near the hospital.
As a means of ameliorating the situation, the concerned staff noted that the Director had gone as far as to Abesim to rent accommodation for house officers (Junior doctors), who would be needed at odd times to attend to patients, adding that the money to transport them to and from the hospital every day could have settled the rent bill for the doctors to stay nearby, to save lives in times of emergencies.
They also claimed that Dr. Abebrese went ahead to set up an Intensive Care Unit costing GH¢240,000, saying that as a result of those wrong prioritisation of plans for the hospital, the facility owed suppliers to the tune of GH¢320,000, and that the hospital was running an overdraft of GH¢30,000 a month, which was attracting interest from its bankers.
Currently, the concerned members observed the hospital was in serious financial crisis, and was owing a lot of suppliers, as a result of which they were not prepared to continue with such magnanimity, adding that some basic items like IV Hydrolyzing, which is a life-saving medication for hypertension patients, who are brought in with high blood pressure (BP), was not available.
The same thing, according to them, applied to the absence of items such as sutures, pulse-oxymeter, plus other important drugs. In some cases, patients are turned away to go to town to look for drugs, some of which were even covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In effect, they said private pharmacies were cashing in, while the situation had become a disincentive to high performance by doctors, some of whom were reluctant to stay after their housemanship.
Dr. Abebrese confirmed the position of the concerned workers that the hospital was in serious financial crisis, but parried the accusation that he was to be blamed for the development. According to him, since 2009, the basic financing system had been changed, compelling all regional hospitals to be run on Internally Generated Funds (IGF). This, he continued, had delayed certain payments until the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) paid the NHIS claims.
The unfortunate development had also led to the absence of essential items such as sutures, pulse-oxymeter, and other important drugs. In some cases, he continued, patients are turned away to town to look for drugs, some of which are even covered by NHIS.
Dr. Abebrese also told The Chronicle that the facility had prioritised the eradication of maternal and infant mortality, and also intensified effective delivery at the Accident and Emergency care unit, hence, lots of money generated were channeled there to ensure that the purpose was achieved.
On the maintenance of the nurses’ quarters, the Medical Director explained that the place was owned by the Regional Health Directorate and not the Regional Hospital. However, some people, out of malice, were trying to accuse him of not assisting in maintaining the place.
Touching of the purchase of the vehicle, the Medical Director indicated that the said vehicle was procured through the Ghana Health Service (GHS) procurement system, with the approval of the Director General, and that it was not the Brong-Ahafo Regional Hospital alone, but all regional hospitals were supplied with the same type of vehicle. He, therefore, denied that he used internally generated funds to purchase the vehicle.
