Maxwell
Kofi Jumah, Former Member of Parliament for Asokwa constituency, has
expressed support for the Health Minister's directive to the Chief
Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to
proceed on leave.
The Ministry of Health has asked the KATH CEO
to proceed on leave following KATH’s inability to produce the bodies of
three still born babies allegedly disposed of by staff of the hospital.
The Ministry ordered the hospital management to account for the lost babies on Wednesday, February 5 this year.
The
order was given when Madam Suwaiba, mother of a missing baby at the
hospital filed a complaint to see the body of his alleged dead baby but
her plea came to naught.
Political figures, family members and
neighbours of Madam Suwaiba vehemently called on the management of the
hospital to take the necessary actions to provide evidence of the dead
child.
Their request caught the ear of the Health Minister, Hon.
Sherry Ayitey who also directed the hospital leadership to launch
investigations into the case within 14 days.
Due to the hospital
management's failure to provide details of the whereabouts of the
babies, the CEO is expected to go on leave with immediate effect.
The
Health Ministry has also given the Dental and Medical Council as well
as the Nurses and Midwifery Council to submit reports on the missing
baby case by April 15, 2014.
Speaking on U TV's morning show "Adekye Nsroma",
Hon. Kofi Jumah told host Tweneboah Koduah that the Chief Executive of
KATH, Professor Ohene Adjei, should be blamed for the negligence of the
hospital staff.
According to him, the hospital mishandled the case and so, the CEO is culpable.
The
CEO, he said, is responsible for the missing baby saga and should have
stepped down even before the Health Ministry's directive.
“Ultimately,
the Chief Executive is responsible. So, if I were him, I wouldn’t even
stay there. It may not be his fault at all. He may even have inherited
it (negligent attitude and unprofessionalism style of staff)…but of
course, ultimately, he’s responsible. I sympathize with him but that’s
how it should happen,” the former NPP MP said.
Hon. Kofi Jumah
further bemoaned the culture where people in the health sector are
promoted to hold offices without careful scrutiny of their expertise in
the field.
He explained that, in Ghana, once a person is
qualified to be doctor, he or she is also assumed to be able to hold the
office of an administrator.
“…such practice should not be
encouraged at all…the services of professionals with specific skills
should be employed as hospital administrators,” he added. |
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