It was near chaos at the Surgery Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) after the Minority Spokesperson on Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, stormed the facility to enquire about the suspension of elective surgeries allegedly over faulty elevators.

This comes after the hospital announced the suspension of all elective surgeries due to faulty elevators.

Kwabena Mintah Akandoh visited the facility with some journalists to verify the claims about the faulty elevators.

• Read also: Korle Bu suspends elective surgeries; relocates emergency cases

However, upon arrival, they were met by a staff member who refused to allow the MP to conduct interviews within the premises of the surgery department, leading to an altercation.

According to Mr Akandoh, he had to personally visit the facility to understand the concerns.

 “This morning I decided to pay a surprise visit to see whether or not the lifts are working. Unfortunately, the lifts are not working. We are here at the Department of Surgery and the lift at the department is not working. Information we have gathered is that some of the lifts have been down for the past four to five years,” he said.

Mr Akandoh questioned why the hospital waited for years until the lift completely broke down without attempting to carry out regular maintenance.

 The Ranking Member expressed concern that, due to the hospital management's negligence, it is ordinary Ghanaians seeking elective surgeries who have to bear the consequences.

In this regard, he called on the Minister of Health and other stakeholders to resolve the issue promptly.

“I am calling on the government, the Minister responsible for health, they cannot suspend surgeries indefinitely. Within 24 hours, we must see the end of this unconscionable behaviour. We cannot accept that behaviour," he added.