The Coalition for the Defense of the Voiceless (CODEV) is calling on the President Nana Akuffo Addo to immediately intervene and save the Tamale Teaching Hospital from corruption, conflict of interest and mismanagement under the watch of the acting CEO, Dr. David Kolbila.
The group alleged that, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the hospital is engaged in dubious corruption activities and diversion of hospital consumables to his private clinic within the Tamale Metropolis.
At a press conference in Tamale, the group claimed maternal mortality at the hospital stood at 29 from January to June in 2019 owing to the lack of critical medical consumables at the facility.
The Coalition for the Defense of the Voiceless (CODEV) also claimed that, the private clinic of Dr. David Kolibila has become the biggest private facility and a major competitor of TTH within the Metropolis owing to referrals of patients to the facility by Dr. Kolbila and his cornices at TTH.
The group also alleged that, the Vice President Dr. Bawumia is on the heels of the TTH Board to confirm Dr. David Kolbila as the substantive CEO of the hospital which the group believed will hamper the facility from delivering on its mandate.
Read the full statement bellow
PRESS CONFERENCE BY COALITION FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE VOICELESS (CODEV),
ON RECENT HAPPENINGS AT THE TAMALE TEACHING HOSPITAL UNDER DR KOLIBILA,
THE ACTING CEO .MONDAY 15TH JULY 2019
WHAT HAVE WE DONE AS NORTHERNERS TO DESERVE THIS TREATMENT
Opinion Leaders, Chiefs, The Clergy, Media men, Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you all to this important press conference to lay bare before your very eyes the state of affairs at the Tamale Teaching Hospital under Dr.David ZaawumyaKolbila the man I refer to us modern day Adolf Eichman.
CORRUPTION AND PROCUREMENT BREACHES
The data of the Tamale Teaching Hospital is speaking the loudest yet the Vice President of Ghana Dr.Bawumia says suddenly and funny enough he has lost all his Mathematical and Statistical prowess in this matter. Let Dr.Bawumiatell us the reason why he must and shall impose such a master-class in incompetence of a CEO on the people of the North.
I hold in my hand a bank statement of a private supplier who Dr.KOlbila was using as a fronting company. On the page 5 of the bank statement, there are some transaction that clearly lend evidence to the corrupt activities of the acting CEO. On the 28th of November, 2017, TTH made a payment of GH48,500 to this fronting company with an HFC Cheque with the number 682282-Tamale Teaching Hospital. On the 29th of November, Dr.Kolbilla issued instruction to the Manager of this fronting company to pay the same amount as paid to him by TTH to a supply company that supplies medical consumables to his private clinic , by name OBINO MEDICAL SUPPLIES. On the 3rd of January, 2018, TTH paid the fronting company whose bank statement I am holding an amount of GH67,900.00 by cheque from HFC with cheque number 681406-Tamale Teaching Hospital. On the 5th of January 2018, the same amount was paid into the account of TIZAA ROYAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL. My search at the Registrar General’s Department revealed that TIZAA ROYAL SPECIALIST CLINIC belongs to Dr. David ZaawumyaKolbilla and Angelina Kolbilla, his wife. The Manger of this fronting company tells me that he has made several cash payments also to the personal account of Dr.Kolbilla to cover supplies he has made to TTH on behalf of the acting CEO.
I also show to the whole world and the Government of Ghana purchase order printed from the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). The supply company whose name appears on the purchase order is IA Enterprise. The owner and the CEO of this supply company is called IMORO ABDULAI, a cleaner at the Tamale Teaching Hospital but recently converted to a laboratory assistant who doubles as a staff of Tizaa Royal Specialist Hospital where Dr. David Zaawumya Kolbilla is the owner. Mr.Imoro Abdulai is the aid de camp of the acting CEO of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
This IA Enterprise is just a fronting company for the acting CEO.If you look at the purchase order the prices are inflated in order to put corrupt money in the pocket of the acting CEO at the expense of human life and dignity. Monies paid to this company are paid back to the CEO. The acting CEO gets the supplies from Obino Medical Supplies in Kumasi for IA Enterprise. IA Enterprise will in turn supply them to TTH under dubious price quotation method of procurement.
THE STATE OF CONSUMABLES SUPPLY
As I speak, TTH is borrowing GAUZE, COTTON, EXAMINATION GLOVES and SUTURES from Central Hospital. The hospital cannot pay its suppliers because of wrong application of its Internally Generated Funds. The IGF of the hospital applied to dubiously inflated procurements just to put money in the private pockets of Dr.Kolbila and his cronies. TTH cannot even purchase gas for the preparation of food for in-patients. TTH could not provide food for its patients in the latter part of May and the first two weeks in June and yet patients were billed for feeding. Dr. David Kolbila should tell us where did that money go to. The situation in the hospital is deteriorating on a daily basis. Courageous staffs who try to point out the deteriorating levels of situations in the hospital are tagged as saboteurs by the acting CEO. Cronies and fronting suppliers of Dr. Kolbila supply things that close to expiry and Officers at the stores cannot talk. Drug supplies have also deteriorated. When you complain about it, Dr. Kolbila and his cohorts in the hospital are quick to rationalise it by telling the ministry has a framework contract that they cannot side step. My question is what framework contract is this that the institutions on whose behalf the framework contract is established cannot make call-off orders against the terms and conditions of that agreement?. The non-availabilty of Adrenalin led to the death of an O and G fellow and a wife of one of the departmental heads in the hospital. If crocodiles are eating their own eggs what do you think can happen to the young ones of the frog.
ADMISSIONS AND REVENUE
The general admissions of the hospital both in-patient and out-patients dropped by 20% last year. This seriously impacted negatively on the revenue targets of the hospital. TTH missed its revenue target by a wide margin. This has never happened ever since this hospital was given a teaching hospital status. As I speak, my checks at the hospital revealed that revenue mobilisation is in the negatives((negative 1.8%). Dr. David Kolbila disbanded the Claims Team composed by his predecessor no no tangible reason. This has resulted in poor claims filing with the NHIA. Almost all the time, claims filed are return to the hospital for corrections. This has resulted in delay payment by NHIA to TTH. The hospital account has been garnisheed by a Court order secured by one of the numerous suppliers the hospital owing. The supplier said he went to court because of the un-courteous nature with which Dr. David Kolbila had been dealing with him anytime he came to talk about his money. Other suppliers I interacted with have also decided to get their monies from the hospital through the Courts.
PRIVATE PRACTICE
Dr. David Kolbila is actively the CEO and Manager of his private facility by name TIZAA ROYAL SPECIALIST CLINIC in the Tamale Metropolis. Dr. David Kolbila consults and does both planned and emergency surgeries at his private facility. Dr. David Kolbila’s hospital is the biggest private facility and a competitor to the Tamale Teaching Hospital. It is against the rules of engagement in both the Public and Civil Services. This is a very serious and grave conflict of interest. It is also against good corporate governance. Dr. David Kolbila has been telling his private patients that if they do not havr money to pay for his chsrges, they should go to TTH and die. It appears to me that Dr. David Kolbila is intentionally put TTH through this agonizing moment in order to give his hospital upper hand in the region. Dr. David Kolbila has people in the hospital who divert cases to his private facility for a commission.
MANAGEMENT OF THE HOSPITAL
Dr.Kolbila has a very terrible human relations problem. He is full of insults and gestures that always bring him in conflict with both Senior and Junior members of the hospital. He has poor working relations with most of his Directors, Deputy Directorsand Heads of department. InfactDr.Kolbila’srelationship with the Head of O and G is not good. It is not better between him and the Head of A and E. It is not better between him and the Head of the Surgery Department. It is not better between him and the Head of Pathology and it is certainly not better between him and the Head of Radiology, internal medicine and paediatrics. Infact, a doctor complained of consumables and the state of his department and Dr.Kolbila said and I quote‘‘Treat those you can treat and those you cannot get consumables to treat allow them to die. After all, that is how it is done in the bush’’.
This situation has impacted negatively on tertiary healthcare delivery in the hospital. This has in turn shot up the overall deaths in the hospital month-on-month. As I write, the maternal mortality from the records of the O and G from January to June stands at 29. Frightening and scurrying statistics. Our wives and sisters are not safe.
Under Dr.Kolbila the hospital is struggling to attract and retain all categories of Doctors. There is an acute shortage of Medical Officers in the hospital. Because the hospital is not working, Doctors have decided to exit the hospital under the guise of we are going to pursue further studies. More than 80% of Medical Officers have gone to school and truth be told they are not coming back. Dr.Kolbila has release all the four Physician Specialist who came from school at latter part of 2017 to go back for further studies while arrangement is not made for their replacement. The Internal Medicine Department is totally depleted in terms of manpower. It is the same for the Emergency Department and the OPD Unit.
As I speak, the mortuary fridges are permanently down as a result of Dr.Kolbila’s negligence and penchant to pick fight with everyone. The power fluctuations had destroyed the electronic boards of the fridges.Vamed BV wrote to Dr. David Kolbila that their assessment of the first fridge that broke down was as a result of power fluctuations. Their assessment revealed that the Voltage at the time of the assessment was 170volts instead of 220-240 volts. They advised the hospital to either switch off the remaining four that were functional at the time of the assessment or put them on a plant. Dr. David Kolbila did not heed this technical advice but went ahead to give orders for the in-house technical people to remove the Mortuary from its dedicated plant and assigned that plant to the National Blood Transfusion Centre. This singular action of Dr.DvidKolbila was responsible for the break down of all the recently installed fridges. This led to the decomposition of bodies that the hospital had to mass bury 24 unknown bodies at an inflated cost.Thisis a serious loss of revenue to the hospital and lost of essential service to the society.
THE STATE OF DIALYSIS
The supply of dialysis consumables is also erratic. Meanwhilethe service is cash and carry and some of the patients have paid in advance. TTH is owing the supplier of the consumables one Mr.Amuzu terribly. The supplier reached an agreement with Dr.Kolbila to be paying certain amount to him on a monthly basis but Dr.Kolbila has failed to keep his side of the bargain. This led to the death of four dialysis patients in May. When some of the patients who were present and saw the death of their colleagues got frightened, they went to Dr.Kolbila’s office to ask what the problem with the supply of the consumables was. This show of concern elicited the anger of Dr.Kolbila and it nearly turned bloody between him and one Mr Osman. So I received a call from this Mr. Osman to help them because the NPP government through Dr.Kolbila with the insensitive and inconsiderate support from the Vice President of Ghana has failed them.
This shortage of consumables made RashidaAlhassan to transit from acute kidney problem as a result of Eclamsia to chronic kidney failure that led to her untimely death.
In the face of this master-class in incompetence, Dr.Bawumia is on the neck of the Board Chairman to confirmDr.Kolbila. In his quest to succeed with this wickedness, he has employed the Board Chairman of TTH one Mr.Mahmoud Hamid Nassir-deen in his office. The Board Chairman’s assessment of the hospital shows clearly that Dr.Kolbila cannot do the job. My checks at the Ministry also show that Dr.Bawumia has become a stumbling block to the removal of Dr Kolbila.
Why is it thatKorle Bu Teaching Hospital, KomfoAnokye Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and other smaller facilities such as Central Hospital and West Hospital in the Tamale Metropolis are all working and serving the needs of the people but Tamale Teaching Hospital cannot work to serve its people?.
I am by this press conference drawing the attention of His Excellency Nana AddoDanquahAkuffoAddo in this matter. After, it is him Ghanaians voted for including the people of the North and not Dr.Bawumia. Your Excellency, you called on Ghanaians in your inaugural address to be CITIZENS and not SPECTATORS. Your Excellency, people of northern extraction want you to walk your talk because Dr.Bawumia has failed his people completely and gravely relative to the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
Thank you so much for your attention.
Long live Northerners and May Allah bless us all.
IDDRISU HARDI PAGAZAA
(CONVENER)
0242155729
