Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital suspends out-patient services

Information available to Myjoyonline.com indicates that the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra has suspended services at its out-patient clinics.

According to sources, this is because close to 150 house officers who were providing essential services in the hospital have finished their housemanship and have left the hospital.

The doctors were not employed after their housemanship and the void created after they left is so gaping that drastic steps had to be taken.

The house officers were responsible for in-patient care, preparing patients for surgery, amongst others.

In their absence, these duties, sources say, will now be taken over by resident doctors, compelling the hospital to suspend its out-patient services to the general public.

The sources say resident medical officers are not happy about the situation and believe the Ministry of Health and the Medical and Dental Council could have done more to avert the situation.

They are also worried that hundreds of qualified doctors have been sitting at home for months waiting for induction and posting whilst their services are badly needed in hospitals.

It is unclear whether the freeze on public sector hiring has anything to do with the situation.

But essential sectors such as the health sector are believed to be exempted from the freeze.

With the development, patients needing health care may have to look elsewhere.