Vodafone Ghana has given out over GHC60,000 to settle the outstanding hospital bills of some 170 patients who have been detained in the 10 regional government hospitals across the country for non-payment of bills.

Corporate Affair Director of Vodafone Ghana, Carmen Bruce-Annan said the gesture, which is dubbed “Vodafone Valentine Homecoming” is Vodafone’s way of use the season of love to restore those patients back to their loved ones. “We wanted to show our expression of love by settling the bills of patients who are not able to do so, so that they can go home and spend Valentine’s Day with their loved ones,” she said.

She said Vodafone also wanted to show that it was serious with its commitment to the community in which it operated.

Carmen Bruce-Annan said Vodafone also paid for patients who are not already registered on the NHIS to be registered, adding that it is a show of Vodafone’s commitment to helping the Ministry of Health meet the cost of healthcare in the country.

“Each of the patients who felt our touch of love also went home with a Vodafone branded mobile phone preloaded with credit so that they can stay in touch with their loved one long after they have left here,” she stated.

Twenty out of 60 patients detained at Korle-bu Teaching Hospital alone were released amidst tears and gratitude.

The beneficiaries had spent between two weeks and one year under detention in the hospital. They include a three month old baby who has been abandoned by its father after the mother died in child birth, an HIV positive mother who is forced to breast feed her child because she doesn’t have money to buy alternative foods, a teenage mother with child, and other nursing mothers with sick babies. A 17-year old mother, who mentioned her name as Adjeley from Ablekuma in Accra could not hold back her tears for Vodafone’s Valentine treat.

She said she and her child had been in the hospital since Christmas because her parents could not afford the hospital bills, but she was happy to finally return home.

Ruth Quarshie is the mother of five-year old Emmanuel Quarshie, who has been in hospital for a year with a tumor, part of it for medical attention and part for detention due to non-payment of bills. Ruth could also not hold back her tear narrating the pain her son had been through in that one year, but she was also happy to return home finally and continue medication and procedures from home.

Public Relations Officer of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Mr. Mustapha Salifu thanked Vodafone for the gesture and called on other corporate organizations to emulate the example.

He tells Adom News the 60 detained patients at Korle-bu owe the hospital a total of about GHC50,000.

Mr. Salifu explained that “Korle-bu is a tertiary hospital so not all services are covered by the NHIS so even people who present their NHIS cards sometimes have to pay for certain services and that is how come they incur huge debts.” Mr. Salifu said for the babies who were abandoned, the hospital hands them over to the Social Welfare Department.