A Board member of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Eric Attieku has questioned the basis for hiring the services of a private journalist to do a damage control job for the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Prof Otu Nartey. Mr. Eric Attieku explained that the hospital has a substantive Public Relations Officer, and wonders why a private person should be hired to damage-limitation for the hospital's CEO. Mr. Attieku said this in an interview with Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem on Friday following a publication that the Managing Editor for the Al- Hajj newspaper, Alhaji Bature Iddrisu has been hired by the hospital to offer the hospital PR services. "We have a PRO in the hospital and if there is a need for PR work, I think the PRO is competent enough to do the job, so why engaging the services of Alhaji Bature. Is it for any selfish interest, this is the question we should ask ourselves," Eric Attieku stated. The Board member bemoaned the series of false publications carried out by the paper about the hospital. He noted that Alhaji Bature has no justification in publishing such stories about the hospital, adding he should seek clarification before publishing any material about the nation’s largest health facility. Mr. Attieku said Alhaji Bature is trying to play on the minds of Ghanaians, claiming to know everything about the hospital. To him, this does not augur well for Ghana’s premier hospital. He noted that Alhaji Bature’s assertion that the CEO of KBTH, Prof Otu Nartey has channeled his additional allowance to charity at the hospital may be true, but was quick to add that Prof Nartey, in the first place, was not entitled to any additional allowances. Mr. Attieku explained that according to the rules governing the operations of the hospital, an employee of the facility cannot be made the Board Chairman for the hospital. Therefore, it is illegal for Prof Otu Nartey to take the top up allowance. "If one takes illegal money for charity work, does it make the person right"? Eric Attieku asked. In a sharp rebuttal, Alhaji Bature said he has never taken a pesewa from the CEO of KBTH to do damage control for the hospital. He said as a seasoned Journalist, he is discharging his duties in a professional manner, devoid of any undue influence. Alhaji Bature claimed some board members ran to him to explain issues at KBTH with documents and this is why he got himself involved with publications at KBTH. He said while he has not been promised any money for discharging his professional duty, if ‘something’ is presented to him as a token he will accept it wholeheartedly.