Korle Bu will not be closed, says chairman of council

Health News Monday, January 28, 2019

Source: Daily Searchligh

2019-01-28

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Korle Bu University Hospital reiterated that his outfit would remain the first hospital in the country and would not be closed.

Contrary to reports of an impending closure due to the lack of a license, Dr. Okoe Boye stated that his company had taken the initiative to acquire the license so that other public health facilities, which do not have not been allowed yet, do the same.

According to him, a multitude of factors, including the regulator's emphasis on licensing private hospitals, made public health facilities more difficult.

His comment comes after reports that the country's first hospital may be closed by March 31, 2019.

The Health Facilities Regulatory Authority (HeFRA), the body responsible for authorizing health facilities in Ghana, said that Korle Bu was operating without a valid license. The Chairman of the HeFRA Board of Directors, Nana Otuo Acheampong, disclosed this information to JoyNews during an inspection of some private and public health facilities in Accra.

However, Dr. Okoe Boye, Chair of the Board of Directors, said, in the margins of the launch of the Skills Support Project: "The Health Facilities Regulatory Authority (HEFRA) was created to authorize health facilities to respect certain basic standards.

"The motivation or goal is to make sure that those who are profit-driven do not cut corners in health care delivery."

He added that "when it was put in place, the focus was on private institutions, because it's the profit-oriented ones that are not owned by the government. Although the law encompbades both public and private institutions, they focused on private institutions.

The member for Ledzokuku said: "For a while, HEFRA has become moribund and no longer active. We changed the law, became active, and began visiting facilities. "

"The Korle Bu University Hospital was therefore the first hospital to lead the way so that we could also harmonize and be subject to the law. We approached HEFRA, HEFRA did not approach us, chose the forms, paid them and started the process, "he added.

Dr. Okoe Boye found strange information suggesting that the first hospital would be closed by March 31st if he did not hold a license.

According to him, the country's first reference center needs the license for its own credibility and has taken the necessary steps to complete the licensing process.

He said he has more than 4,000 employees at the hospital; the hospital will take some time to complete the process.

He badured however that the hospital would get a license and would not be closed.