As part of moves to bolster its internally generated funds and ensure increase in revenue generation, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is set to contract the services of a local financial outfit, Fidelity Bank, to undertake on-site cash collection at service points in the hospital.
The Chief Executive Officer of the facility, Dr. Joseph Akpaloo, who disclosed this at the hospital’s Mid-Year Performance Review Workshop, said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, as well as the hospital’s Board, had granted an approval to management of the facility to proceed with the arrangement.
According to him, the move is to help ensure efficiency and transparency in revenue generation in order to improve operations of the hospital. Dr. Akpaloo disclosed that currently the project was being piloted at the Specialist Consulting Rooms and the Family Medicine Units and was expected to be extended to the entire hospital.
He indicated further that the hospital was increasingly finding it difficult to meet all the financial and logistical obligations from the meagre internally generated funds, stressing “management of the hospital has in that direction urged all units and directorates to use their links to mobilize extra resources from philanthropists, and corporate bodies for improved clinical care.
The CEO of KATH also noted that the hospital has encountered a number of challenges over the past two months, citing constant breakdown of diagnostic equipment and irregular supply of regents to the hospital by suppliers.
Dr. Akpaloo further pointed out that the non availability of an efficient oxygen plant, which has forced the facility to depend on the obsolete one at the disposal of the hospital, is hampering its operations and therefore reiterated the call on government to assist in the provision of a new plant for the hospital.
“Currently, the obsolete plant for in-house production of oxygen is operating below capacity and the hospital incurs huge sums of money in sourcing half of its oxygen needs from private companies which is a major drain on the hospital’s coffers,” he lamented.
Despite these challenges, however, Dr. Akpaloo said the hospital chalked some significant successes in the areas of health provision, such as Specialist Out Patient Attendance, Physiotherapy Services, reduction in Maternal death rate from 1119.25 per 100,000 live births in 2014 to 1077.80 live births in 2015.
“Polyclinic O.P.D dropped from 36,251 in mid year 2014 to 34,637 same period in 2015 whilst Family Medicine also witnessed a drop from 8,561 in 2014 to 5,191 same period in 2015,” he indicated.
He further noted that the hospital spent an amount of GHc 544,650 from its internally generated funds to procure equipment such as Anaesthesia Machines, Suction Machines, Auto Hearse for the Pathology Unit, Patient Trolleys and Incinerator accessories amongst others.
The KATH CEO also announced measures to help reduce the alarming rate of congestion at the hospital, pointing out that management was considering a collaboration with the Ghana Health Services for the running of Specialist Medical Clinics at the surrounding health facilities within the Kumasi Metropolis.
He said under the arrangement, Senior Physician Specialist would be posted to auxiliary facilities to help manage complicated cases which are usually referred to KATH.
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