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The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, has debunked media reports that some staff of the facility are being denied their earned annual leave.
A statement signed by the hospital’s Head of Public Relations, Mustapha Salifu, dated November 10, claimed the story was a fabrication and has no foundation in fact and therefore entreated the public to disregard it completely.
“We were … surprised to read this story based on an anonymous source that the Management of the hospital is denying some staff the right to enjoy their well-deserved annual leave. The right to go on leave is enshrined in law and nobody can deny anyone that right.”
The original report carried by Angelonline.com.gh quoted sources at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital who relayed the plight of some of the colleagues at the Department of Anaesthesia.
According to the story, anaesthetists at the department who suspended their leave due to COVID-19 were made to go for 18 working days leave out of the total 36 days.
The source noted that although they agreed with management to defer the outstanding leave, management was not willing to document and validate the agreement. They feared if that was not done, they may forfeit the remaining leave next year.
Read: Korle Bu anaesthetists angry over management refusal to grant them leave
But the statement from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, rebutting the story was emphatic that the “Hospital has not denied any Anaesthetists the opportunity to go on their annual leave”.
It also read in part, “It was also decided that those whose leaves were suspended would now have the opportunity to go on their leave.”
The full statement below
SUBJECT: NO STAFF HAS BEEN DENIED OF ANNUAL LEAVE
The Hospital’s attention has been drawn to a story in sections of the media that levelled false accusations against the authorities of the Hospital.
Essentially, the story falsely claims that the Hospital was denying Anaesthestists the opportunity to go on their annual leave.
To begin with, the Hospital has not denied any Anaesthetists the opportunity to go on their annual leave. The facts are that when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, the responsibility fell on the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to mobilise the staff not only to fight the outbreak in Korle Bu but to join the broader national effort at combating the disease.
In this respect, staff of the Anaesthesia department, Internal Medicine and allied specialties in the hospital were mobilsed to join the national team to prepare the nation for the fight against the pandemic.
Some staff were recalled while those who were due to go on annual leave were asked to suspend to support the broader national cause. Some were assigned to other hospitals within the metropolis while other special arrangements were made within the Hospital to contain the situation.
It is important to point out that the teams gallantly discharged their duties to the collective national effort and the Hospital is proud and grateful to them and all the Covid-19 teams in the Hospital for their contributions.
However, as the cases receded, various departments in the Hospital including the Department of Anaesthesia arranged and resumed their routine operations. It was also decided that those whose leaves were suspended would now have the opportunity to go on their leave.
We were therefore surprised to read this story based on an anonymous source that the Management of the hospital is denying some staff the right to enjoy their well-deserved annual leave. The right to go on leave is enshrined in law and nobody can deny anyone that right.
We conclude by stating categorically that the story is a fabrication and has no foundation in fact and should be disregarded completely.
Addendum-
We take this opportunity to urge the general public to heed to the call of His Excellency, The President, to renew our commitment and vigilance in adhering to the COVID-19 safety protocols – wearing of facemasks, hand hygiene, physical distancing etc so as to avoid a resurgence of the disease in our country.
SGD
MUSTAPHA SALIFU
HEAD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020
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