The Management of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Monday said a major source of worry to the hospital was the incidence of absconding patients which cost the hospital over 1.2 million Ghana cedis from 2003 to 2007. A total number of 1,518 patients left the hospital without paying bills, Acting Chief Administrator Dr. Ben Annan said, that it was a drain on the hospital resources. Speaking at the Hospital’s Annual Performance Review Seminar in Accra, Dr Annan called on the public to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to receive free medical services. The meeting, organized annually for the various departments and units of the hospital to take stock of the previous years activities, achievements, challenges and the way forward is to help improve patient care at the Hospital. “The number of card bearing members who enjoy our services is growing steadily and those who do not have resources to make prompt payment should take advantage of the NHIS”, Dr. Annan said. He told the meeting that the hospital received 15,030 card bearing patients in 2006 representing five percent of total attendance while in 2007 it recorded 64,000 representing 20 percent of attendance. In terms of reimbursement, 2.3 million Ghana Cedis claims had been submitted out of which 54 percent had been paid by the scheme, he said, and noted that though all claims had not been paid, it was far better than absconding. He further explained that it was the hope of the hospital that the schemes would pay what was due them and reiterated his call for the mass registration under the NHIS. Cataloguing the hospital’s achievements, he mentioned the acquisition of a new Endoscopy machines (used in diagnosing the Upper and Lower Gastrointestinal and other related ailment) at the cost of 730 Ghana Cedis and the relocation of the unit to a more spacious space, Standby Generators, Six Dialysis machines, commissioning of a new Surgical and Medical Emergency Ward and high capacity water reservoirs. The hospital, he said, continued to strive for excellence in new treatment methods and mentioned Cystectomy and bilateral Lymphadenetomy, the first ever surgery performed in Ghana to correct cancerous bladder and the creation of a new one using the patient’s intestine. The Management, he noted, would soon set up a new Human Resource Centre to include a conference centre and a continuous education centre and begin the promotion of staff which had been pending for years. In the hospital’s bid to ensure the availability of Specialist care in other hospitals, six Paediatricians, three Obstetricians, five physicians and three surgeons were released for distribution to deprived hospitals he said, but added that “Surprisingly, some of these specialists have found their way to other quasi governmental institutions within Accra”. Dr. Annan mentioned the dwindling budgetary allocation, the increasing number of solvent patients, indiscriminate and professional ways by which patients were referred and pilfering of hospital property as well as well as old and non functional equipments as some the challenges facing the hospital. However, he said the hospital had initiated moves to set up new centres and units which would include a new Eye Centre, National Urological Centre, Neuroscience Centre, A family Planning Unit and the completion of the Medical Block. Also in the pipeline were measures and programmes aimed at attracting and retaining the required staff to ensure quality care. It would also expand, modernize and rehabilitate physical structure and facilities and provide equipment and other working tools as well as develop operational research capacity at all levels Dr. Annan said. Source: GNA