Korle-Bu Management reacts to CHRAJ's comments

Accra, Dec. 17, GNA- Management of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Friday suggested to the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), to rather ensure that Ghanaians registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) so they will enjoy free medical care.

It said the interest of the so called "detained" patients, which the Commission has termed as illegal, would have been better served if the Commission had called for such people to register with the NHIS and ensure that the National Commission on Civic Education educate the public on the need to register with the NHIS or pay their medical bills when they go to the hospital.

It said government, recognizing the difficulties some patients go through in paying their medical bills, have introduced the NHIS as a way of making health care accessible to all, including the core poor, who cannot even pay their health insurance premiums.

The hospital's suggestion was in response to recent comments made by CHRAJ Commissioner, Ms Anna Bossman that the "detention" of patients at hospital, especially nursing mothers who were not able to pay for their medical bills, were illegal and described it as an infringement on their on human rights.

Dr. Ben Annan, Director of Medical Services of the Hospital, who read the Management's response noted that "Korle-Bu does not detain patients. People rather wrongly term the period during which the Social Welfare Unit of the hospital conducts investigations into their socio-economic background of patients as a period of "detention".

He explained that some of the nursing mothers normally feign inability to pay their medical bills and abscond from the hospital in the process of investigating their backgrounds adding that the hospital has lost over one billion cedis from 2001 to 2005 through 1,977 patients who have run away without paying their medical bills.

"We need to exercise greater circumspection when it comes to commenting on methods of funding healthcare for people. A good number of those who claim they are unable to pay for their bills are mostly saying so with the hope that a philanthropist will come to their aid and this should be discouraged".

Dr Annan explained that the hospital has from 2001 to 2005 granted waivers to 1,614 patients who were declared insolvent with the total of over 2 billion cedis.

He said the hospital run a scheme that allow patients who have been discharged to pay their bills by installments and also get either a relation or proxy to guarantee that, when they have gone home. The hospital's Management urged CHRAJ to make the findings of a research it is conducting in the hospital for discussion and explanations before going public.