Dr. Gilbert Buckle
The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra spent more than GH¢100,000 on Christmas bonuses for its management and staff members, according to media reports.
Each staff member received GH¢100 as motivation, while the management members received a total of GH¢17,000 intramural allowance (extra allowances at the discretion of management).
The management members who benefited from the amount included director of medical affairs, director of administration, acting director of pharmacy, director of finance, director of nursing services, acting director of general services and director of human resources.
Chief Executive of the Hospital, Dr Gilbert Buckle, is said to have taken home GH¢ 21,000. This comes on the back of the financial constraint of the hospital which greatly affected the operations of the facility last year due to breakdown of the intensive care unit, the central sterile services department and the closure of the eye clinic.
When contacted on the issue, the Board Chairman of the Hospital, Prof Anthony Mawuli Sallar, confirmed approval was given for the payment of staff bonuses but not that of management.
“I’m highly surprised and would be very disappointed if it’s true because management cannot propose and approve. I mean in corporate Ghana, such an amount is to come to the board for approval and it looks like it was done at the blind side of us,” he told 3FM.
Prof Sallar said he will initiate investigations into the matter, but expressed doubts the management members would pay themselves such amount without seeking approval from the board.
“I doubt but I’m going to call one of them now to verify because there have been some mismanagement acts that we have tried solving before now. So we are in limbo so we don’t know if we are still a board, but if we stay, we will call for an audit of the hospitals account,” he assured.
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However, the chief executive denied the allegations that the hospital paid GH¢100,000 to management and staff as Christmas bonus.
Dr Gilbert Buckle was emphatic when he spoke on Joy Midday News yesterday that the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital “doesn’t pay bonuses and has never paid bonuses.”
The source said Dr Buckle received GH¢21,000, while other members of the board took home GH¢17,000 each in extra allowances with each staff member allegedly receiving GH¢100 as motivation.
But, Dr Buckle doubted the payments, explaining that if Korle-Bu were to pay its 6,000-strong staff a GH¢100 each, the total bonus payment would be GH¢600,000 not GH¢100,000.
He said it is possible that the payment was an allowance that has finally been processed after a long delay.