REJOINDER: Dead Bodies left In Hospital Ward

Accra, April 26, GNA - The Authorities of the Central Regional Hospital have reacted to a GNA story on the strike action embarked upon by nurses and other para-medical staff of the Hospital. Below is the full text of a rejoinder signed on behalf of the Hospital Director by Mr Abraham E. Bortei, Principal Health Service Administrator, in fulfilment of constitutional demands. GNA, however, stands by the original story. "Management of the Central Regional Hospital has read with dismay an article which appeared in the Daily Graphic of 25th April, 2006 the Ghanaian Times, and the internet of 26th April 2006 with the caption 'Dead bodies left in hospital wards'.

"Management wishes to state that the assertion by the reporter that a staff of the hospital gave her the information cannot be tenable since she could not even name the staff.

"The fact of the matter as confirmed by available records in the mortuary books states that two corpses George Cobbina aged 60 years and Samuel Gyimson aged 70 years both died of CVA on 24th April 2006 and the deaths were duly confirmed and certified by Dr Genaro Diaz Guillen, a Cuban Physician.

"The mortuary men by name Dominic Kuma and Francis Amankwa removed the bodies from the Male Medical Wards to the Mortuary the same day. "Aside these deaths that occurred at the Hospital, three bodies, Ekua Ampaba aged 70 years (brought by Kwesi Appiah, H/N A25/L Buakman Avenue Cape Coast), Ekua Mannan aged 40 years (brought by Baffo Yussif c/o UCC Security Services) and John Pinkrah aged 63 years (brought by Georgina Mends Hagan a Nurse at the Central Regional Hospital) were brought from outside on the same day and were confirmed and certified by Dr Francis William Quayson and deposited at the Mortuary.

"It is, therefore, not true that a number of dead patients were left in their beds at the Central Regional Hospital following the refusal of the mortuary attendant to remove them as a result of the strike action as stated by the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

"Management therefore expect the two daily newspapers, that is the "Daily Graphic" and "The Ghanaian Times" to render an unconditional apology to the Central Regional Hospital and retract the stories with the same prominence they gave to the earlier stories.

"Management would like to assure the Press and the general public that the Central Regional Hospital will continue to render quality health service and entreats all and sundry to contact management for the truth or otherwise of any such story before publishing it." 26 April 06