Director of Korle-Bu Pharmacy interdicted over GH¢900,000 fraud

General News of Friday, 30 January 2015

Source: myjoyonline.com

Elizabeth Bruce Korlebu

Following revelations of misappropriation of GH ¢946,574.29 at the Pharmacy Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the Pharmacy’s Director has been interdicted.

Mrs. Elizabeth Bruce and nine other employees of the hospital have also been interdicted, a statement from the Management of the hospital said.

The other employees indicted include a pharmacy manager, a principal pharmacist, 3 senior pharmacists, 2 pharmacy accountants, the chief cashier and a stores assistant.

The forensic audit into the operations of the pharmacy department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital was commissioned by the then Health Minister Ms. Sherry Ayittey. It revealed that bad procurement processes and collusion by suppliers were used in misappropriating the amount.

The forensic audit showing the mount misappropriated which was intercepted by Joy News covered the years 2010 to 2014.

2010 – GH¢245 193

2011 – GH¢275 287.85

2012 – GH¢146 269.54

2013 – GH¢208 504.43

2014 – GH¢71,319.14

The interdicted officials are expected to appear before an administrative inquiry to determine their guilt or otherwise.

The Board added, it will not hesitate to call on the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to arrest officials where criminal actions have been confirmed. The BNI will also assist the Board to recover lost revenue, the statement said.

The Board described the level of mismanagement at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital as an “endemic situation”.

Meanwhile, Ernest Chemists Ghana Ltd, a pharmaceutical company and supplier of drugs to the hospital has been asked to return GH¢21,000 which the report found to have been illegally paid, the audit further revealed.

The report made 44 recommendations and asked for a strict adherence to the Public Procurement Law.

The Director of Pharmacy at the hospital in a response after checking the department’s books, acknowledged the findings of the audit as factual.

The Pharmacy Manager and staff at the department have expressed surprise about the shortage in cash lodgments because cash was paid to the bank every day.

The Pharmacy’s checks also show that a number of computer printouts from their daily sales summary had been forged and the amount on it reduced drastically.

The indicated that their department had done all it should and cannot be held liable for the misappropriation. They insisted that the accounts department respond to the discrepancies.

The originals of the daily cash detail sheets signed as proof of receipt of cash are also missing.