The Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Professor Ohene Adjei, has described the Act that established the Procurement Law in the country as “not very health-sector friendly. He pointed out that many Ghanaians, especially medical staff and even lawyers “find it difficult to appreciate the practicality of the Public Procurement Act”. He has therefore called for the “review of the law” to accommodate the peculiar needs of health service providing institutions such as KATH. Explaining further, he said the review of the law would “ensure that compliance with the law does not result in delays and loss of lives.” Addressing Heads of Directorates and Business Managers of the KATH at a two-day procurement training for entity tender committee members, Dr Adjei said the procurement law posed a lot of challenges to healthcare institutions. He pointed out that the Act that established the law did not offer any concession to hospitals in the country. “The present situation where the hospitals, as emergency service providers, have to follow the same process as any other public sector institution cannot be said to be the best”, he lamented and added “simply put, the law as it stands now is not very health sector friendly”. He, however, noted that notwithstanding the challenges of the Procurement Act, the KATH had always demonstrated its determination “to adopt best procurement practices before the advent of the Public Procurement Act 663, 2003 with the establishment of its own Supply Chain Management (SCM) Unit in the year 2001”. He pointed out that under the SCM, the KATH had “excelled in all the successive ratings under the Various Supply Chain Management Audit, conducted by the Public Procurement Authority.” He stressed that the Supply Chain Management Unit of the hospital was one of the few public sector procurement units that had been able to graduate from ‘Mature’ status to ‘Excellent’ in the practice of Supply Chain Management in the country.” Professor Adjei said under that system, the KATH was considered a national model that had been recommended to several institutions “desirous of setting up procurement units or perfecting the acts of existing ones”. He urged the participants to take the workshop very serious to enable them come out with practical suggestions that would call for a public debate for the review of the Public Procurement Act 663, 2003. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana