KATH Urges Public to Report Extortion by Staff

Mr. Kwame Frimpong, the Head of Public Relations at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, has issued a warning to the public, urging them to report any staff members attempting to solicit money from them.

In an interview on Opemsuo Radio’s Nkwantannanso with Kofi Boakye on September 14, he emphasized that KATH staff are not permitted to accept physical cash payments from patients.

Mr Frimpong stated, “No one will even approach you to accept money because our accounting processes do not involve cash handling. We have a partnership with Fidelity Bank, and all payments are directed there.”

He explained that one of the primary challenges the hospital currently faces is congestion, which has created opportunities for individuals to impersonate staff members. Despite measures in place to prevent this, the hospital continues to grapple with congestion.

“The biggest challenge we have is congestion due to the large number of people who visit the hospital. We have medical students, ENT specialists, and various training schools here. The average daily attendance at the outpatient department (OPD) is around 1,000, and patients are often accompanied by others. This congestion creates opportunities for impersonation, although we have systems in place to mitigate it,” he noted.

He cautioned the general public to remain vigilant when visiting the hospital premises, emphasizing that no legitimate KATH staff member will approach them in walkways, open spaces, corridors, or parking areas to solicit assistance. Any such encounters should be reported to hospital security.

The warning comes in the wake of a recent incident where a fake doctor was apprehended within KATH premises. The suspect, wearing scrubs with the name tag “William Cyril” and donning a stethoscope, was exposed during one of his encounters.

Story by Adwoa S. Danso