Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Dr. Joseph Akpaloo has revealed that, the oxygen plant procured to be used by the KATH was burnt by the fires that gutted the central medical stores in Tema in January.

“The Hospital had procured an oxygen plant; it was at the central medical store. In fact a vehicle was to go to Tema to bring it here when the place caught fire, burning down the plant completely”.

Dr Akpaloo told journalists at a media interaction in Kumasi yesterday. “As we speak, the KATH is managing with one of the used ones from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital”, he added.

Dr Akpaloo, said as part of frantic efforts at providing better medical services to patients, the hospital will soon fix all the elevators to the wards.

“Government has promised to fix all the lifts to the medical wards as soon as possible” he revealed.

Adding that, “this, when fixed will completely eliminate the stress pregnant women go through in climbing the staircase to the labour wards for deliveries”. He expressed grave concerns at the congestions at the hospital, “the hospital is extremely burdened with congestions at the wards. And as part of pragmatic measures to fix the setback, the maternity and child block would be completed in two years” he assured.

The maternity block which was started in 1974 would cost about one hundred million dollars to complete.

Dr Akpaloo called on peripheral hospitals to desist from making late referral of cases to the hospital,

“It’s important for other peripheral hospitals to make referrals to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in time to help doctors attend to such complications”.

“The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is a centre of excellence. My vision therefore is to instill discipline in our operations as we seek to protect the integrity of the hospital”, he said.

“Reports of divisions in my administration are false and unsubstantiated,” he responded to a question on whether or not his management is fractured.

“These are my management staff, we work together, eat together, plan together and so all those rumors are unfounded and fabricated,” he stressed.

The CEO called on the media to see itself as stakeholders in working towards the delivery of better and enhanced health services to patients.

“We are bedfellows; we must therefore see ourselves as partners in seeking better medical service to patients. My doors are always opened to you,” he said.