Tamale Teaching Hospital has been taken to the cleaners, defrauded by a company that it contracted to install an oxygen plant at the facility, officials said.
The culprit, identified by hospital authorities as the Samid Company, allegedly installed equipment meant for a district hospital instead of a teaching hospital.
And as part of its elaborate scheme to fleece the hospital, Samid company, reportedly told TTH management that the equipment it had installed was brand new. However, hospital authorities discovered to their chagrin that the equipment was not only manufactured in 1982, it was also rebranded.
Dr. Abass Adam, acting director of medical affairs at the hospital made the revelation during a visit by the Tamale Dakpema Alhassan Dawuni to enquire about reports that the hospital was outsourcing its laboratory services.
A visibly angry Dakpema broke down in tears, demanding cogent answers from management for their idea to outsource laboratory services to a private company. He told the TTH management that he is not happy about complaints from patients about the kind of treatment they receive from the only teaching hospital in the northern region.
Earlier on Thursday, Dakpema Dawuni told Zaa News that he will take management of the hospital to task if they went ahead with their decision.
On Friday, the Dakpema led his elders to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of a decision that has angered many residents in the metropolis. He told the management that their fore fathers gave the land free for the construction of the hospital because of its importance to the people in healthcare delivery service.
Dr. Abass explained that the Samid company has been declared bankrupt, otherwise, the hospital authorities will have pursued them legally. These revelations follow patients’ complaints about the shortage of oxygen at the hospital, which has led to the loss of lives.
Checks by Zaa News reveal that the hospital is now sending its cylinders to Kumasi in the Ashanti region for oxygen.
