ALLEGED USE OF EXPIRED REAGENTS AT KORLE BU LABS

Management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital wish to assure the general public that its laboratory tests are reliable and valid and it does not use expired reagents to conduct laboratory investigations. The public should, therefore, disregard reports in sections of the media that seek to create the impression that the Hospital uses expired reagents to conduct investigations in its laboratories.

The Hospital placed an order for reagents through its usual processes during the 4th quarter of 2011. Due to some delays, these were delivered on January 25, 2012. Upon inspection on receipt by the Supplies Department, it was detected that some of the reagents would be expiring in March, this year. Armed with this information, the hospital immediately called the supplier to bring this to their attention for replacement of those that will expire before they could be used. He readily agreed and has taken the necessary steps for their replacement.

At the time that the reagents were supplied, some of the laboratory machines (analysers) were not functioning and it took the supplier a lot of time to fly in technicians to repair and service them. By the time the analysers were repaired, some of the reagents (18% and not 89.2% as stated in the media) had expired. The reagents in question are for hormones and normally have a very short shelf life which cannot conform to the usual 18 months.

Some of the reports also stated that more than GH¢33,044 worth of laboratory reagents had gone waste at the stores. The reagents being referred to were supplied in 2004 by a company who had some contractual disagreement with the Hospital. In the face of the disagreement, the Hospital had to procure new analysers to run its laboratory investigations. The company, whose products the Hospital had discontinued using, failed to collect their reagents and no losses were incurred in respect of those reagents by Korle Bu.

The procurement processes and procedures in Korle Bu are transparent and no individual can short-circuit the system to his/her advantage. The process of re-ordering of reagents is always generated by the user department and management has no hand in that process at all. It is, therefore, not true that the CEO and some officials in the hospital are engaged in fraudulent procurement practices. There is also no evidence that some officials are engaged in the manipulation and forgery of documents to fleece the Hospital.

We challenge anybody with evidence contrary to what management has stated to come forward or invite the appropriate state agencies to investigate the allegations.

Thank you.
MUSTAPHA SALIFU
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
15TH MARCH 2012

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