The Korle-Bu Doctors' Association (KODA) has accused hospital management of presenting a misleading picture of conditions at the Accident and Emergency Centre during a working visit by the Minister of Health, saying the environment on the day of the visit was not a true reflection of the daily reality at the facility.

The Minister of Health, together with Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital management, paid a working visit to the emergency department on Saturday, March 21, apparently prompted by a viral video circulating on social media showing patients being nursed in chairs and on the floor.

According to KODA's statement, the Minister left the visit believing the social media publication was inaccurate, having apparently encountered a near-normal situation during his tour.

But KODA says that impression was manufactured.

"It is normal practice to prepare prior to a visit by a minister of state. This arrangement is not new whenever a government official plans a visit to a hospital. New bedsheets are provided for all beds, including those previously without bedsheets; everything is re-arranged to look perfect," the association said.

KODA said accepting the actual situation on the ground was an important first step toward finding real solutions and warned management and the Ministry of Health to stop deflecting blame onto others for a problem they are responsible for as leaders of healthcare.

"The Ministry of Health and Korle-Bu management should desist from making scapegoats out of a problem they are responsible for as leaders of healthcare," the association said pointedly.

The Korle-Bu Doctors' Association (KODA) said it appreciated the immediate efforts by management and the Minister to provide temporary solutions, but said that Ghana must transition from what it called "crisis management" to "systemic correction."