While some patients are dying due to either the absence or the unaffordability of some vital drugs, it has emerged that some hospital workers have been smuggling drugs out of the hospitals for parochial reasons.
A pharmacist at the Bimbilla government hospital is in the grips of the district police for allegedly stealing some pharmaceutical drugs.
READ MORE: Peopleareusinganti-diarrheadrugstoget high, andit’s becoming a seriousproblemThe district police crime officer, DSP Ebenezer Kosi-Peprah said on Accra-based Citi Fm that the police got tipoff from an informant, that some drugs belonging to the Bimbilla hospital were being transported to Tamale on a Bimbilla – Tamale bound bus.
He said the bus was quickly intercepted at the barrier along the Bimbilla -Accra road, and upon a search, the drugs were found on top of the vehicle.
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The suspect, one Stephen Nii Obodai, who happened to be the pharmacist at the hospital, was later arrested at his Bungalow at the hospital.
DSP Kosi-Peprah also said some drugs were found in the suspect’s room upon a thorough search by the police. He later told the police that those drugs were meant for his clients.
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The district director of Ghana Health Service at the Nanumba north district, Mr Dandia said “as a hospital, we actually also realized that some form of thievery of drugs has been going on and management in a meeting decided on a number of options.”
He urged the general public to also report to management if they notice anything odd at the facility. He has also pledged the support of management to ensure that the suspect is appropriately punished. Stephen Nii Obodai has been asked to vacate from his post, pending further investigations by an independent committee.