By: Aminata AP Ceesay
The CEO of Kanifing General Hospital, Mr. Basirou Drammeh, has dismissed as false the reports that the hospital has been extorting money from members of the public on the pretext that its only X-ray machine has broken down.
Reports were rife in town that the hospital was giving a false impression to the public that its X-ray machine was out of commission when it was in fact functional.
According to CEO Drammeh, the machine was replaced, adding that the installed machine is now up and running.He told The Voice that the hospital was informed by a technician that the device was damaged beyond repair “because the machine was really old.”
“So, the hospital sought an alternative from Farafenni Hospital but without success. This warranted us to negotiate with our international partners, who came to assist us and we informed the Minister of Health about this.
We contributed over 18,000 Euros and bought a new X-ray machine which is now in full operation. This machine is one of the best digital X-ray machines in the country,” Drammeh explained.
He debunked the allegations peddled by some patients and their escorts that the machine did not break down but that the hospital staff was cashing in it by charging high fees.
While explaining that some people could be prone to peddling any kind of allegation, CEO Drammeh stated: “But their allegation that X-ray machine is used for business is a fallacy.” He continued: “The X-ray machine in reality had a breakdown and we cannot fix it. We were working on having new machines and this coincided with the time the Ministry of Health was renovating our X-ray Department. So, all the damaged X-ray machines were removed. But now the Kanifing General Hospital has an X-ray machine and is in use.”
He pointed out that the hospital has adopted a flexible approach when it comes to X-ray charges as some less well-off patients could be X-rayed without any burden to their purses.
