Nurses and Midwives at Eastern Regional Hospital, Koforidua (ERHK) have been warned that they would be held responsible should any patient under medical detention abscond from the hospital.
Mybrytfmonline.com sources indicate that staff has been directed to police Patients unable to pay their medical bills hence placed under medical detention and provide updates in the handing over duty notes to their colleagues and superiors.
Ward In-charges are also expected to update management on such patients on daily basis.
The decision is part of the new debt recovery reforms by the Hospital.
Management of the Eastern Regional Hospital in its financial reform which took effect on February 5, 2021, directed that all feeding must be cut to patients in medical detention.
The hospital says patients could only apply for financial undertaking for deferred payment of their medical bills only when he or she has made at least 50% payment of their bills before the application could be granted for his release.
Under the new debt recovery reform, patients going into admission must make an upfront payment of their medical bills.
Management has also directed that medical services must be restricted to any patient on admission who fails to make part payment of their medical bills within 72 hours. The hospital will, however, attend to such patients for essential services as requested by In- charge of the various wards.
Management led by the medical director Dr. Arko Akoto Ampaw has also directed that a compulsory deposit payment be made by patients or pregnant women before elective surgery.
The new reforms are aimed at reducing patients’ indebtedness and maximize revenue mobilization for a robust internally generated fund.
Meanwhile, the Clinical Director at the Eastern Regional Hospital, Dr. Foster Amponsah- Manu has explained that the financial reforms are not reintroducing “cash and carry”
“All that management is saying is that, when people are coming for elective surgery which is a planned surgery when you are coming just come and pay a deposit so that at the end of the day you won’t incur a lot of bills. if it is an emergency, the hospital treats you. We see you we give you whatever treatment you need. By 72 hours we expect that your relations have had notice of it. They should come and help pay. Or if it is an insurance that you have to bring the insurance to help pay “.
He continued to explain that “Now if there is a case and they don’t have anybody, after 72 hours the ward in -charge is to request the medication, for the feeding and all these things to be done. Nobody is reintroducing cash and carry. All we are saying is that, if you have a bill that you’ve incurred you should help clear the bills”.
Dr. Amponsah -Manu stated further that, in cases, the people are paupers the social workers declare them paupers and we let them go. It is not the first or the last and we encourage our Doctors never to demand money before seeing patients. We encourage in this Hospital that nobody demands any financial clearance before seeing patients. That doesn’t mean that people should not assume their responsibilities. If you have insurance clear it. if you don’t have insurance it means you can pay so pay for the bills”.
Financial Loss at the Hospital
The new Management of the Hospital has expressed their displeasure over the increasing phenomenon of none -payment of medical bills by patients which has occasioned the reform.
In 2018 for instance, the hospital lost about Ghc350,000 to about 75 poor and needy patients who could not pay their Medical bills hence absconded while some 212 signed an undertaking to pay their bills in installments which most could not fulfill their promise.
Again, a total of four hundred and thirty-one (431) patients treated and discharged at the hospital between January and June 2021 deferred payment of their medical bills through the intervention of the Department of Social Welfare and subsequently released from medical detention.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
