By: Kebba AF Touray
The Board of the Kanifing General Hospital has reported to the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) that the hospital’s accumulatively yearly staff emolument amounted to one hundred and sixty-six million two hundred and eighty thousand, two hundred and ninety-two Dalasi (D166,280,292).
They made this report during their engagement with the FPAC for the presentation of their activity reports and financial statement from 2010-2018.
“Our accumulatively yearly staff emolument amounted to D266,280,292 between the year 2010-2018 financial period. Our total drug revolving funds expenditures amounted to D32,703,747 during the same period,” reported KGH Board.
The board explicated that all the revenues generated from revolving funds were generated internally from the services they offer to their clients, ranging from admission, consultations, laboratory investigations, CT Scan, X-Ray, Maternity services, surgical operations and dental services.
The Board added, “Our outstanding payable balance as at 31st December 2018 amounted to D2,416,702.00. This shows that our other charges monthly inflow is not sufficient to meet our monthly operation.”
The operational expenditures of the facility, as reported by the board, stood at D88,240,326 between the year ended 31st December 2010 to 31st December 2018.
“This registered the highest expenditure of D25,861,950.00 since inception of the hospital as a result of increased staffing level and also increase in patient turnover which leads to an increase in patient food, medical oxygen consumptions and drug and dressing,” said KGH Board said.
The board explained that they have registered giant achievements in the provision of laboratory services with the introduction of biochemistry, microbiology and hormonal test.
Another success area, as indicated by the board, was with their revenue performance, which reportedly rose from D350,000 per month to over D800,000, as a result of plugging leakages.
Other success stories of the hospital, according to the board, were in the provision of clinical services, settlement of long-standing bank overdraft and posting of specialist doctors to the hospital particularly the clinical services.
The board also decried that they are confronted with challenges such as inadequate subvention, adding that their monthly subvention fell far short of the operational needs, infrastructure deficit, which in the face of bed occupancy rate was more than hundred percent which is above the recommended benchmark of 80 percent-85 percent.
Other factors confronting the hospital are mobility challenges, as the facility lacked road worthy vehicles which severely constrained official errands and supervision, and the lack of adequate number of consultants and specialists which are responsible for referrals to EFSTH.
However, after the presentation of their reports and financial statements, the committee re-engaged the board in a consideration exercise of their said reports. The committee subsequently adopted the reports of the hospital, with amendments that the audit queries raised in the reports are addressed.
