By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Feb. 24, GNA – Dr. Arko Akoto-Ampaw, Medical Director of Koforidua’s Eastern Regional Hospital, has expressed concern about unpaid bills by several discharged patients and warned against what he considered a fraudulent act.
Speaking at a press event on the 2022 annual performance review in Koforidua, he said that some patients sought medical treatment but didn’t have enough money, so they brought undertakers to help bail them out.
However, after the patient’s recovery and discharge, the undertakers could not be found to ensure payment of the medical bills, leaving the hospital in debt.
He also said another group known as absconders come acting as if they could pay the hospital bills, but before they were discharged, relatives sent their belongings home, leaving fake items behind to show they were present.
“Furthermore, a group referred to as paupers, comes to the hospital for treatment with no funds and is not accompanied by anyone, the hospital cares for them and discharges them,” he said. “In such a situation, [they] let the hospital incur debt. I therefore appeal to the public to desist from such acts.”
According to statistics, the number of undertakings in 2021 and 2022 was 169 and 122 respectively, with a cost of 255,649 Ghana cedis and 166,760 Ghana cedis.
In 2022, the amount paid from the 166,760 Ghana cedis was 34,136 Ghana cedis, and the balance was 132,624 Ghana cedis.
Statistics on absconders revealed that 75 patients absconded at a cost of 103,476 Ghana cedis in 2022, and 58 patients absconded at a cost of 39,356 Ghana cedis in 2021.
In 2021, a total of 9,096 Ghana cedis was spent on five patients and 3,183 Ghana cedis on one patient.
Concerning hospital utilization, Dr. Akoto-Ampaw stated that outpatient department (OPD) attendance decreased by 5.3 percent from 283,114 in 2021 to 268,191 in 2022.
In 2022, insured patients accounted for 86.5 percent of attendance, up from 74.7 percent in 2021.
The top 10 cases of OPD attendance in 2021 totaled 148,981 and 136,342 in 2022.
Tonsillitis, rheumatism and joint pains, hypertension, malaria, anemia, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, and other respiratory tract infections were among the top 10 cases.
In 2021, there were 1,028 admissions, and in 2022, there were 691.
Speaking about the hospital’s accomplishments as part of the annual performance review, he noted that the hospital created a scan and diagnostic room at the Antenatal Care (ANC) and diabetic block, rehabilitated a computerized tomography (CT) scan, rehabilitated a pre-operating room at the main theatre, and achieved International Standardisation Organization (ISO) 15189 certification of the hospital laboratory, among other things.
He said that future projects for the Eastern Regional Hospital would include the extension of the hospital’s mortuary cold room and painting of the external walls, the construction of a shed for absolute items at the main stores, and the construction of an autopsy unit at the hospital’s mortuary.
“Also, I’m quite confident that the new regional hospital that is under construction, when completed, will solve the infrastructure challenges the hospital is facing today, because it will serve a larger population,” Dr. Akoto-Ampaw said.
The Eastern Regional Hospital was built in 1926, with major structural changes made in the 1970s by Colonel Minyila. It provides comprehensive secondary level inpatient and outpatient health care in a patient-friendly environment with a motivated, and competent staff.
He stated that the annual performance review was a critical component of the quality improvement process in healthcare.
GNA