Korle-Bu, LEKMA Hospital collected fees without approval from Parliament
According to Regulation 48 of the Public Finacial management Regulations, 2019(L.I. 2378), a Principal Spending Officer responsible for collecting various types of fees and charges shall review annually
The Auditor General has indicated that two Hospitals in the Greater Accra Region charged patients maintenance and intramural fees and other service fees amounting to GHC 35,440,924.20 for the period January 2019 to December 2020 without Parliament’s approval.
According to Regulation 48 of the Public Finacial management Regulations, 2019(L.I. 2378), a Principal Spending Officer responsible for collecting various types of fees and charges shall review annually the administrative efficiency of collection, the accuracy of past estimates, and the relevance of rates, fees and charges to current economic conditions and submit a proposal through the Minister to Parliament for approval.
Further to the above, the Auditor General per its 2021 Audit Report notes that from January 2020 to December 2020, the Management of Korle-bu Teaching Hospital disbursed a total amount of GH¢10,165,386.19 from fees collected for the maintenance of the Hospital and equipment on employee allowances without approval from the Ministry of Health.
The Auditor General has therefore recommended that the Heads of the two Hospitals should seek retrospective approval from Parliament for the collection of the fees, failing which they should desist from such practices.
Furthermore, it recommends that the Heads of the Hospitals should ensure the refund of the amount into the Maintenance fees account of the Hospital to be used for its intended purposes.
