We are Ready to Support New CEO’s Agenda for Change-Kath Doctors Declare
The executives of the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association (KADA) have declared their readiness to support the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, in his change agenda to make the facility more patient-centred and responsive to the complex needs of its stakeholders.
They noted that the association’s relationship with management in the past was not been the best but it was prepared to engage, advise and contribute to the resolution of some of the operational challenges facing the hospital so that it could better meet the expectations of its stakeholders in the provision of specialist clinical care to the public.
The executives, led by Dr. Michael Leat, chairman of the association, stated this in separate submissions made at a meeting held with the new CEO in Kumasi today.
The executives commended Prof. Addai-Mensah for his readiness to adopt a consultative approach to managing the hospital as the lack of regular engagements in the past created a disconnection between management and the union and impeded the growth of the hospital and the success of past administrations.
They urged the new CEO to help doctors and other staff members to deliver quality care to the public through the provision of the right working tools, streamline existing operational procedures to make them more patient-friendly, enhance doctors’ access to specialist training and recruit additional clinical staff for needy units. They also stressed the urgent need to resolve the seeming impasse between the hospital and doctors from the KNUST School of Medicine and Dentistry, which was severely affecting the harmonious delivery of clinical care and training.
Prof. Addai-Mensah thanked the executives for the frank exchanges and pledged to make his engagements with the association and the other unions at the hospital a constant feature of his administration for which reason he had directed the institution of quarterly engagements between management and the associations.
“I accepted the onerous responsibility of becoming the CEO of this hospital not because of the mistaken belief that I solely have the answers to all its challenges but did so knowing and accepting that our collective efforts can transform this institution into the tertiary health centre of choice in Ghana and beyond”, he stressed.
Prof. Addai-Mensah also disclosed that one of the strategies his administration would be adopting to improve the work environment and operational capacities of the directorates and units was to grant them greater financial and operational autonomy.
“In this regard, my management would be prepared, after some consultations, to allow the directorates and units to retain a percentage of revenues generated so that they would have the capacity to expeditiously address some of the critical challenges impeding their operations without having to go through the bureaucratic process to central management as is the case now”, he announced.
Other executive members of the association who were present at the meeting were Dr. Kwaku Nyame, vice chairman, Dr. Mrs. Eno Akua Biney, Treasurer and Dr. Abeiku Hammond.
