K'Bu endangering patients' lives – KOSSA Prez

The interdicted President of the Senior Staff Association of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, (KOSSA), Charles Offei-Palm, has accused the management of the hospital of painting a deceptive picture to the public about the non-functional Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the health post’s surgical department.

Mr Offei-Palm, who was a guest on Class91.3FM's Executive Breakfast Show on Friday 8 April 2016, said the ICU has broken down for weeks, but the hospital failed to inform patients so they could seek medical attention at alternative health facilities.

Reports suggest the ICU was closed down somewhere in March this year, a situation that made it difficult for patients suffering from brain tumour and other serious health conditions that needed urgent attention, to be operated on. Such patients were turned away anytime they visited the facility.

Mr Offei-Palm told host Ekow Mensah-Shalders that rather than telling the public the truth, the hospital keeps assuring patients that the facility is operational, yet surgeries are delayed for weeks to the detriment of patients who have already made advanced payments.

“Because the people keep coming, you are assuring them that you are going to take care of them, meanwhile, you know very well that the place is not working. All we said was that let us tell our clients to seek medical care elsewhere at Ridge or 37 Military Hospital. So, you don’t come and then we say [the operation will be] in two weeks and take your money when the place is not ready,” he said.

He continued: “Let’s assume that the CEO was right in saying that everything is okay, but now it is not working, so, who is supposed to hold him responsible that why are you joking with the lives of Ghanaians [for failing to solve the problem over a long period of time]”.

The embattled union leader said he believes the situation is depriving citizens of Ghana the right to access effective healthcare. “People are getting blind with neurosurgeries being delayed. Can you imagine if the person is a breadwinner and goes blind?” he wondered.

Korle-Bu’s ICU is one of the biggest in West Africa. It handles surgeries of all sorts.

Established in 2009 as a four-bed unit, the ICU has now expanded its facilities to include laboratories, ventilators, X-ray machines, dialysis machines and heart monitors.