Kandaha Group warns doctors for vilifying TTH pharmacy director

The Kandaha group, a Pro-NPP group in Tamale has indicated with great dissatisfaction about the current state of affairs at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), and stated that all the allegations leveled against the Director of Pharmacy, Mr. Hamidu Abdulai, were false, unfounded and baseless.

They have therefore condemned doctors and anesthetics that have launched an attack on the Director of Pharmacy and vilifying him.

“Vilifying an officer of this caliber in our public institutions will end up killing initiative and critical thinking,” they indicated.

According to the group, they have carried out an independent checks after the FDA led by Martin Kusi, Acting Regional Head visited the hospital last Friday, and established that the allegation of conflict of interest leveled against Director of Pharmacy in relation to the purchase of Injection-Oxytocin 5IU is a “baseless and unfounded.”

At a press conference held in Tamale, yesterday to present the real and true state of affairs at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, the Kandaha Group pointed out that, the said drug was bought from Ernest Chemist after the Regional Medical Stores was contacted and only 300 ampules of Injection –Oxytocin 10IU was obtained out of a request for 10,000 ampules of both the 10IU and 5IU.

The group also stated that, the price of the injection-oxytocin 5IU mentioned in one of the press releases issued, is GH?3.50 per unit as against GH?0.55 for injection-oxytocin 10IU. “Does this not suggest quality over profit? Especially when it was absorbed by health insurance,” they asked.

“… Don’t our pregnant women in labor deserve quality medicines? Especially when our dear party, the NPP introduced the free maternal health care to improve the health of our women in this country. We believe that the officer acted in good faith and should be commended for timely intervention and a good job done and not vilified. A vilification of officers of this caliber in our public institutions will end up killing initiative and critical thinking.”

According to the group, members have observed with keen interest various developments surrounding the most critical health facility in the three regions of northern regions of Ghana for which several groups, including some Pro-NPP groups, have been making claims and issuing ultimatums to some officials of the Tamale Teaching Hospital to resign their positions.

“This is uncharacteristic of our party’s philosophy and nature. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) believes in rule of law and will at worst resort to procedure to ensure the right things are done at all times material. We are not here to defend anybody who has been involved in either procedural or financial impropriety. But we believe the truth must be told,” the statement said.

The group also made some sterling revelations as regards the contract the hospital had with Haskay Ltd.

According to the group, Haskay Ltd. was given prominence suggesting a wrongdoing on the part of the Hospital, with claims that even though Haskay Ltd. Which existed for a month could not enter into legal contractual agreement with any other institution.

The group however noted that, any company in Ghana duly registered is usually issued with a certificate to commence business. “Once this certificate is issued to a company, the company can start business immediately. It is therefore a display of ignorance to suggest that a company’s deals with the hospital were wrong.”

“… In any case Haskay Ltd. had supplied the hospital with gauze before the national competitive tendering (NCT) at a unit price of GH?85.00 which price was lower than the lowest bidder in the NCT. The lowest bidder in the NCT was GH?98.00, per unit of gauze GH?13.00 more than the unit price of Haskay Ltd. The hospital made savings for buying from Haskay Ltd. and could this not be said to be a prudent decision?”

Another allegation that cannot be swept under the carpet is that which has to do with forcing anesthetists to use expired drugs.

According to Kandaha Group, their facts as corroborated by that of FDA findings do not support this claim.

It said, the anesthetists who wrote the petition threatening to withdraw their services have since written to revoke that decision.

“As at this time, the anesthetists are at work carrying out their legal assignments,” the group stated.

The group therefore called on the good people of Ghana and particularly inhabitants of the three regions in northern, to ignore the call by self-seeking individuals and groups who instead of being part of the solution, if there are any, are rather creating the problems.

“The Tamale Teaching Hospital as we all agree is the biggest referral facility we have in the north and should be allowed to work peacefully,” the group said.