Ridge Hospital suspends two staff over administrative malpractice
The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge has suspended two of its staff for engaging in administrative malpractices and its attendant potential to tarnish the image of the Hospital.
The suspended officers are identified as Thomas Osei, Medicine Counter Assistant and Divine Kumordzi of the Sewing Unit of the Hospital.
Mr Osei will serve a two-week suspension without salary for inappropriate and unauthorised sale of PPE on the hospital’s premises while Mr Kumordzi, who is directed to refund all monies realised from the unauthorised and inappropriate sale of face masks on the hospital’s premises and also serve a two-week suspension without salary.
In a statement signed by the management of the Hospital on 9 August 2020, these officers were caught on camera by BBC investigative team, “Africa Eye” selling Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which belongs to a private individual within the premises of the Hospital.
The statement explained that “even though these items do not belong to the hospital and does not also constitute the Hospital’s COVID-19 stock, either donated or procured”, their actions are “a breach of the Ghana Health Service Code of Conduct.”
“As a hospital, we do not encourage this behaviour since it may adversely affect their output and also be misconstrued by the public as items of the facility,” the statement continued.
The statement indicated that even though “Management stopped the practice immediately it came to its attention and ordered an auditing of the stock of PPE before arriving at its conclusion, the prescribed sanction is in line with the provisions of the Ghana health service Code of Conducts and Disciplinary Procedures.”
The Hospital assured its stakeholders that “all donations and items procured which are routed through the Hospital’s Main Stores managed by a Senior Supply Manager and Head of Stores and supervised by Head of Administration are all intact”, while sending words of caution to staff to “abide by the rules of engagement for the benefit of the patient and the country as a whole.”
