The Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua has debunked reports stating that the facility has detained 246 patients for their inability to settle their hospital bills.
The hospital clarified that during its meet the press engagement, it stated that 246 patients had been discharged despite being unable to fully or partially pay their hospital bills.
In addition, it said it is incapacitated to accommodate this number of patients for such reasons.
A statement signed by the Clinical Director of the hospital, Dr. Forster Amponsah-Manu, said:
“246 persons are not being kept in the hospital for failure to pay their bills, and we do not have the space to contain such numbers in addition to the patients on admission”.
The patients quoted in various reports was a “cumulative figure of persons recorded in 2020 (January to December) and discussed at the Annual Review Meeting who could either not pay all or part of their bills after discharge”, he added.
To support the patients “those who were identified as paupers or persons in the exempt category were enrolled onto the National Health Insurance Scheme by the Medical Social Workers before they left the hospital.