No bed syndrome: ‘We keep talking to hospitals’ – MoH PRO [Video]

The Ministry of Health does not seem to have a clear strategy to deal with hospitals that turn away patients for lack of beds.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Ministry of Health, Robert Cudjoe, said the ministry has been advising hospitals to desist from the practice.

“We keep talking, and whoever is found culpable is punished. It’s a behavioral matter,” he said on Citi TV’s The Point of View programme on Monday.

The story of a 70-year-old man, Prince Anthony Opoku-Acheampong, who died in his car at the LEKMA Hospital at Teshie, after seven hospitals turned him away for lack of beds has triggered public outrage.

Many Ghanaians are calling on the government to sanction health facilities that turn patients away without giving care.

Commenting on public reaction, Mr. Cudjoe said officials of the Health Ministry have been complaining about the no-bed syndrome while urging healthcare professionals to stop rejecting patients.

The LEKMA hospital was the seventh hospital to turn away the late Opoku Acheampong after his family drove nearly two hours in search of medical care.

The death of the 70-year-old has generated a public discussion on what has been described as the “no bed syndrome.”

No bed syndrome is common among health facilities in the country but despite this, Robert Cudjoe said the ministry continues to admonish recalcitrant hospitals to desist from it.

GHS vows to eliminate ‘no-bed syndrome’ after man’s death
In a related development, the Ghana Health Service has admitted stronger systems are needed to curb incidents of Ghanaians dying over the lack of beds at hospital facilities.

The GHS Director-General, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, said the Service will first set up an investigative committee to probe the incident.

“We will get to the depth of this issue and make sure this doesn’t happen again in this country of ours,” he assured on the Citi Breakfast Show.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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