Surgeon Challenges Extortion Allegations Against Him

Dr Petit Amenuveve Kpe an Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon formerly of the Tamale Teaching Hospital has challenged media reports alleging that he extorted money from a patient he attended to when he worked with the hospital.

Dr Kpe who was on attachment at the hospital from 24th July, 2017 to 8th November 2017”, was reported to have collected money from a patient who underwent surgery at the Hospital.

An article published on the 17th October, 2017, entitled “Trading in Patients at the Tamale Teaching Hospital”, stated in some paragraphs that Dr. Kpe Petit Amenuveve an Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon during the period of his attachment from the 24th July, 2017 to 8th November, 2017, and that “Some members of staff who spoke to the GNA on condition of anonymity alleged Dr. Kpe Petit Amenuveve, at the Trauma and Orthopaedic ward allegedly attended to a patient and collected GHc 1,000 and pocketed it. The case, according to the article was currently before the Director of Finance, Mr. Karim Kuuri.

However, in a statement to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday, the Surgeon said “I wish to state emphatically that, I have never taken any money from any patient and pocketed after attending to him or her during the period of my attachment”.

He further stated that, what he was aware of was that, patients who wanted their broken limbs to be operated upon normally paid for their implants, adding that “This normally happened when the Hospital did not have supplies”.

He said the implants belonged to Dr. Yampabe Tolgou, Head of the Orthopaedic and Trauma Unit of the Hospital who confirmed that position when contacted on phone.

Dr Amenuveve said he never treated patients for a fee and described the publication as defamatory aimed to destroy his reputation and medical profession and added that, “An investigation I conducted at the Orthopedic and Trauma Unit indicated that such information was never given to any journalist”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Karim Kuuri, the Financial Director when contacted dissociated himself from the said Publication.

Source: GNA