Charles Offei-Palm
The sacked President of the Korle-Bu Senior Staff Association (KOSSA), Charles Offei-Palm, has been called back to work after almost a year on suspension for allegedly flouting the hospital’s media policy.
In a letter jointly singed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Samuel Asiamah, and Samuel Akotuah Atweri, the Director of Human Resource, Mr Offie-Palm was asked to resume work “with immediate effect”.
The letter also directed that all salaries and allowances of Mr Offei-Palm lost during the termination of his contract be paid.
The KOSSA president was interdicted in April last year for allegedly making some offensive comments against the management in a radio interview.
His interdiction resulted in a number of protests by members of KOSSA who said Mr Offei-Palm’s supposed offensive comments were within his right as KOSSA president.
The latest development on the matter comes after a directive from the Ministry of Health in a meeting with the hospital’s management some two weeks ago that the embattled KOSSA president be reinstated
The KOSSA president had accused the management of Korle-Bu of financial malfeasance, an accusation the management has denied.
About 90 percent of the members KOSSA passed a vote of no confidence in the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr Gilbert Buckle, after accusing him of mismanaging the hospital’s internally generated funds and paying needless judgment debts while neglecting the welfare of staff of the hospital.
Mr Offei-Palm’s subsequent comment on the matter in a radio interview elicited anger from the hospital’s management who brought a case against him and referred it to the hospital’s disciplinary committee.
The committee decided to sack him in April after some sittings to hear the case.
The dismissal letter said, “Following your interdiction and non-appearance for disciplinary hearing, the disciplinary committee has proceeded in your absence and found you guilty of the offences levelled against you as per your interdiction letter. Upon the recommendations of the disciplinary committee, your appointment with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is terminated with effect from 6th April, 2016.”
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri