Korle Bu Teaching Hospital’s management denies reports of critical surgeries being canceled on Monday, April 29, due to recent power outages at the facility.
Media reports on Monday suggested that patients needing urgent medical procedures were sent back to their wards due to power outages, commonly known as ‘dumsor.’
However, the hospital’s management issued a press statement dismissing such reports as misleading. They clarified that Monday’s incident was due to a brief low-current situation lasting about 45 minutes, not a power outage.
The statement explained that only two cases in the Department of Surgery were returned to the ward due to limited space in the recovery ward, not because of power issues. It emphasized that surgeries in other theatres across the hospital proceeded as scheduled.
The hospital also urged the public to be cautious in publishing unverified stories, as they can undermine public confidence and cause unnecessary fear and discomfort among patients.
Below is the full statement.
SUBJECT: SURGERIES HAVE NOT BEEN CANCELLED IN KORLE BU
RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
This is to correct a misleading report in sections of the media that claims that surgeries in Korle Bu were cancelled as a result of power outage on Monday, April 29, 2024 and the standby generator was not in use.
The facts therefore are as follows;
1. Work started on all elective cases in our theatres and the operations proceeded as scheduled.
2. However, we experienced low current for about 45 minutes. In the face of the low current that emanated from a problem at one of the substations of ECG, our functional standby generators came on stream and provided power for work to continue until the problem was resolved.
3. Two cases at the Department of Surgery were returned to the ward at the end of the day on account of limited space in the recovery ward and not because of power outage. The rest of the other theatres spread across the hospital all carried out their surgeries as scheduled.
4. As a leading national referral hospital, we wish to assure our patients and the general public that we prioritize their care and will continue to work to provide excellent services to address their health needs.
5. We wish to appeal to the media to exercise great circumspection in publishing stories that are not fully verified because they undermine public confidence and create unnecessary fear and discomfort among our patients.
Thank you.
