Tema General Hospital: Doctors accepting private lab results over internal ones

The situation has rendered laboratory staff, paid by the government, idle as frustration is beginning to set in at the hospital.

Tests run at the in-house labs are outrightly rejected by some doctors who then request that the patients ask for a refund and directed to get their tests done at designated labs, whose names are written mostly at the back of the prescription with the Doctor’s request and name.

Starrfm.com.gh after a tip-off and subsequent investigation intercepted some of these prescriptions that validate the claims.

Over fifteen private laboratories have sprung up around the hospital, with more expected to be set up.

The mother of a patient who narrated her ordeal said the cost of the lab tests outside the hospital was too high, forcing her to take the test at the hospital’s lab against the direction of the doctor.

After running the tests for Blood C/S, the lab officers canceled out an MDS-Lancet inscription at the back of the prescription, written by the doctor.

The price at MDS Lancet was high, the patient came back. and paid at the hospital’s lab which was subsequently rejected and asked to go for a refund.

Upon taking the results back, the doctor refused it, asking her to “take care of her child herself’, if she won’t do as he asked”.

Some sources at the facility who spoke on condition of anonymity described the situation as a relationship between some doctors and private lab owners.

“There are many instances our labs run results and they will reject it and even recommend to the patients to come for their money. And often, the patients come for the money and then go out to do the same tests,” a source said.

The first referral intercepted was dated 22/12/2020

A second referral that was brought to starrfm.com.gh’s attention also in December 2020., triggered investigation.

He said the situation had been ongoing for years and had been reported to management but nothing has been done about it.

See some prescriptions with instructions from doctors below:

‘Patient went to lancet which was expensive. She then passed the hospital’s lab to ask if the test could be run there and she realized the price was cheaper and did it. She then took the container to the ward, she was asked to return and if she won’t do it at the prescribed lab she should come for her refund. When she got back to the lab.

When she got back to the lab, she was asked to go back to the doctor to issue a reason for the refund request. This letter was written. The next day the patient was made to run the same test at a private lab. The next day she did the test at lancet. Apparently, staff at the Hospital’s lab assisted her with payment.

According to Starr News sources, the development makes it difficult for the laboratory of the hospital to raise money.

The source added that the Medical Director of the Hospital Richard Anthony is aware of the situation but has not intervened yet.

Some of the labs clustered around the hospital:

When Starrfm.com.gh reached out to the Tema General Hospital Medical Director Richard Anthony to find out if the situation had been brought to his attention he said “Please call the metro director to get clarification”.

The Tema-General hospital was last year, fingered in a baby harvesting investigation after EOCO arrested one of its Doctors.

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5fm