The Chief Executive Officer of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, has clarified that the recent increase in the cost of renal dialysis, raising it from GHS¢380 to GHS¢765.42, was neither approved by the hospital’s management nor by Parliament.
Dr. Ampomah explained that only six patients were affected by this new charge, which resulted from a miscommunication within the Renal Dialysis Unit of the hospital.
He assured that the hospital would offset the balance for these affected patients during their subsequent sessions.
The CEO detailed that the proposal for this increase typically goes through a series of approvals, starting from the Renal Dialysis Unit, then moving through various levels, including the head of department, director of medical affairs, and finally the CEO.
The proposal is reviewed to ensure a reasonable justification for the price increase and is then forwarded to Parliament through the Ministry of Health for approval.
However, in this instance, the notice was prematurely posted by someone before receiving full approval. Once the error was identified, a memo was issued by the director of medical affairs, instructing the Renal Dialysis Unit to take it down and wait for formal approval before implementing the new charges.
Dr. Ampomah emphasized that the hospital did not institute the fee increase as it appeared, and the matter is being internally addressed to prevent such issues in the future.
