Patients must use their official names

Patients have been advised to use their only official names on their medical folders to be able to access official privileges and services.

Madam Vida Eyram Debgor, Tema Metropolitan Director of Birth and Death Registry, said this would also ensure that their names tallied with other documents for easy identification should they pass on at the hospitals.

Madam Degbor explained that her outfit was often faced with such situations when relatives went to register the death of a relative with a name that did not tally with documents from the hospital.

She gave the advice at the 2014 Annual Review of the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate.

She said apart from using unofficial names, others also used inaccurate ages and false dates of birth.

She stated that in such situations, dependants found it difficult to request for claims due them since the particulars on the death certificate may not tally with other official documents.

"Therefore, people must be educated to use their official names on their hospital documents," she stressed.

She implored health officials to educate patients on the need to register the deaths of infants.

Madam Degbor noted that figures received by her outfit did not give a true picture of the situation on the ground as most parents did not register the deaths of their infant because of the trauma they were likely to experience.