The Ministry of Health has called on the management of the prestigious Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to account for a recent controversial fee imposed on kidney patients receiving dialysis treatment at the hospital’s Renal Unit.
The hospital has faced considerable backlash following reports of an unapproved increase in dialysis charges.
Isaac Ofie, the Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Health, expressed concern over the lack of due process, stating, “Before you increase fees, there is a need for proper procedure or caution to be taken, extending the proposal or the proposed price to Parliament for approval. Thus, the fees should be approved by Parliament before they are charged. But this has not been submitted to us yet, and even if it had, it should be presented before Parliament for approval.”
In response to this alleged breach of protocol, the Ministry has summoned the management of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to an urgent meeting. The objective is to gain insights into why the new fee structure was implemented without proper authorization and to seek a resolution to the issue.
Isaac Ofie stressed the importance of adherence to established protocols, emphasizing, “It is in line with this that the Ministry has summoned the hospital’s management for an urgent meeting, and they are expected to quickly withdraw the new pricing structure they have introduced.”
On the other hand, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, has revealed that only a small number of patients had been affected by the revised charges. He assured the public that steps were being taken to rectify the situation.
Dr. Ampomah stated, “Fortunately, this was noticed very quickly, and when we checked, it was only six people who had paid this amount. It is going to be offset because these are patients that are on chronic dialysis, so it is going to be offset. It has already been internally remedied, and we are also looking at what went wrong and how to avoid it next time.”
Patients and the general public are eagerly awaiting the resolution of the debate as it develops, and how the Ministry of Health and the administration of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital will work together to guarantee that healthcare is still accessible to all.
