The Accident Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra has been re-opened to the public following the completion of renovation works at the centre. It was closed down temporarily on 15 April, this year as a result of a rainstorm in the capital that flooded the centre.

The rains revealed serious structural defects in the renovated building as the roof leaked profusely, causing damage to important equipment. It was found out by the “Times” newspaper during a visit to the centre on Monday that most of the major machines, including monitoring gadgets, which were removed to safety, had been restored and were in use.

Nurses at the centre were also seen attending to patients, some of whom where on admission. Efforts to get the hospital officials for the total cost of the renovation did not yield positive results, as those who had the mandate to do so were absent.

In a recent letter to the “Times”, the management of the hospital blamed the shoddy work at the centre on contractors GERTECH GmbH of Germany that executed the project through its local agents, Hospital Engineering Limited, (HEL) and the consultants, Messrs Building Industry consultants.

The letter indicated that contract for the renovation works was awarded in 1997 by the Ministry of Health and signed between the then Health Minister Eunice Brookman-Amissah and the contractors.

“We wish to note that the management of the hospital was only notified after the agreement had been signed to facilitate the commencement of work,” it stated.

When the new Chief Executive, Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, assumed office in June 2002, he detected anomalies, not only with the roofing, which had been experiencing some leakages, but also with other sections of the centre. The letter said the Prof Boateng immediately requested for the contract documents to enable him to assess the situation before taking the appropriate action.

According to the letter, “it is also crucial for critics to note that due to the insistence of the Chief Executive, the company is doing the rehabilitation at no cost to the hospital.

Efforts by the “Times” to get the officials of Hospital Engineering within the past one month to comment on the project have been futile, because the General Manager of the company said he was travelling outside the country and would only talk on his return.