The Board Chairman of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has clarified that the premier teaching hospital is not facing closure for not complying with the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency’s (HeFRA) directive on license acquisition.

His comments follow reports that the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital was at risk of being closed down by March 31, 2019, by HeFRA, for operating without a valid license.

Dr. Okoe Boye, also the MP for Ledzokuku, revealed to Citi News that the hospital has an understanding with HeFRA.

“I have made my checks with the Board Chairman and the registrar [of HeFRA], and they said that was not the impression they created, but one reporter took it that way that Korle Bu will be closed down after March 31.”

He noted that the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Accra Regional hospital were among notable health institutions without licenses from HeFRA.

“The communication was that ideally if we were to apply the law to all facilities, all government facilities, including Korle Bu would shut down. Of course, that was not going to happen.”

The MP also explained that licensing a major hospital like Korle Bu was a more intensive task than for a small private facility.

The certificates of all doctors and nurses have to be made available for scrutiny, among other things, before a licence is granted by HeFRA.

“Remember we have over 7,000 workers in Korle Bu. The doctor population is not less than 2,000. The nurses are about 3,000. So to get this list, the approach cannot be like a private facility which is meeting a deadline within a quarter.”

Unlike private facilities, he also said there is no hard deadline for institutions like Korle Bu to secure a license from HeFRA.

“Actually, what they [HeFRA] told us is that they are going to walk through the motions with us. We are not going to have timelines not because we are exceptional, but because the circumstances are different.”

The Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2011 (Act 829) established HeFRA to license facilities for the provision of public and private health care services.

The objective of the Agency is to license and monitor facilities for the provision of public and private health care services.

Source: citinewsroom.com