[ 2021-03-17 ]

Eastern Regional Hospital detains 246 patients for non-settlement of bills
Some 246 patients of the Eastern Regional Hospital
in Koforidua, who have been treated of their
ailments and have recovered, are being detained
for their inability to settle their medical bills
totalling GH¢281,092.
The management of the hospital has expressed worry
over the development and appealed to the public,
especially philanthropists, to bail out the
patients who are from poor and vulnerable
backgrounds.



The Medical Director of the Eastern Regional
Hospital, Dr Arko Akoto Ampaw, who highlighted the
plight of the patients at the hospital's review
meeting held in Koforidua last Thursday, said in
order not for such a situation to recur, the
hospital's welfare unit had advised relatives of
patients on admission to deposit some money with
the hospital.

Medical cases

Dr Ampaw said cases frequently reported to the
hospital included cadiovascular diseases and
stroke, followed by hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

He advised sick people who reported at the
hospital to take their health seriously and go by
the instructions given to them by the health
staff.



He said the three main conditions that would make
one eligible for admission were anaemia,
hypertension and malaria.

He said the number of pregnant women who reported
to the hospital with hypertension rose from 377 in
2019 to 525 last year.

Meanwhile, he said, child mortality decreased from
77 to 29 within the same period.


Dr Ampaw said deaths recorded at the hospital rose
from 1,612 in 2019 to 1,808 last year.

COVID-19



He was worried about the negative impact COVID-19
was having on blood donation at the facility and
encouraged the public to voluntarily donate blood
to support the blood bank and save lives.

Dr Ampaw urged visitors and those seeking services
at the hospital to desist from abusing its
security officers and staff who tried to enforce
the COVID-19 safety protocols.

In addition, he called on the public to collect
the bodies of their dead relatives from the
hospital's morgue, which was filled to capacity at
the moment.

Patients lament

Some of the detained patients the Daily Graphic
spoke to lamented the situation in which they
found themselves.

Madam Patricia Adjorke said she had been at the
hospital for about a month now and had been
treated of her ailment, even though she did not
have a National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS)
card.

She said out of the GH¢7,092.71 she owed, she had
been able to pay only GH¢2,600 and appealed for
assistance from philanthropists to enable her to
settle her bill, since her family was unable to
pay the remaining amount.

Another patient, Mr Mohammed Fobi, whose relatives
were yet to be reached, said he owed the hospital
GH¢2,400, and that even though he had come to the
end of his treatment regime, he could not go home
because he had not been able to settle his
indebtedness to the hospital.

He attributed his predicament to his inability to
register with the NHIS.

Background search

The Head of the Social Work Unit at the hospital,
Ms Osafo Tekyiwaa, said background checks were
being done on the patients to identify those who
could not pay for their treatment, so that they
could be discharged to go home.

"We do background checks on patients who cannot
pay their medical bills. We do investigations on
their families to find out those who are poor and
cannot pay and those who can afford," she said.

Ms Tekyiwaa said the hospital was NHIS compliant
and urged all who were sick and sought services at
the hospital to come along with their NHIS cards.

Source - Graphic Online

... go Back