President John Mahama has fired Dr. Atiku Adam, the chief executive officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, in response to allegations of poor management and medical malpractice that led to a patient’s death at the facility.
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, made the decision a few hours after making an unexpected visit to the Tamale institution yesterday to evaluate the situation at the referral hospital.
Mr. Akandoh voiced his displeasure with the facility’s declining healthcare delivery, citing the apparent non-function of key critical medical devices.
The minister found what he called unsettling hospital conditions, including shabby restrooms, malfunctioning medical equipment, and general infrastructure neglect.
Patients were forced to use private facilities for services at astronomical costs because some of the equipment had been malfunctioning for the past six years or more.
The scenario was deemed “unacceptable and disgraceful,” especially for a major referral institution that serves all of Northern Ghana and beyond, by Mr. Akandoh, who reprimanded the management.
In addition to getting firsthand information about a suspected case of medical malpractice that led to the death of a patient who was referred to the hospital a few weeks ago, the visit was intended to evaluate the facility’s current condition.
After being taken to the hospital’s emergency room in an unconscious state, Bavug Salim was allegedly left alone for several hours for unknown reasons, which ultimately led to his death.
In the town of Tamale and on social media, the regrettable incident caused popular outrage, with many people demanding prompt investigations.
A committee consisting of three members has been established by the minister to look into the circumstances surrounding the patient’s death.
Within two weeks, the committee is supposed to provide its report.
Mr. Akandoh went on to say that patients deserved better and that he was disappointed by the facility’s appalling condition.
“I must admit that the health workers are not working under an ideal situation. Irrespective of that, health professionals need to be tolerant, approachable, and respectful to patients. Don’t let people assume that you don’t care about human lives,” he said.
The minister emphasized that “it is quite disheartening to hear that equipment such as CT scans and MRIs have been down for about six years without maintenance” and instructed management to repair any malfunctioning equipment in order to improve service delivery.
All parties involved should be interested in the facility’s functioning, Mr. Akandoh said, while pushing the committee to work hard to determine what caused Salim’s death.
Dr. Atik Adam, TTH’s CEO, addressed the concerns by stating that work was being done to resolve some of the problems preventing the provision of services.
Regarding the young man’s passing, he stated that management had already formed a committee to look into the cause of his passing.
Source: newsthemegh.com