General News

Dr. Adjei Hinneh in suit interacting with one of the BECE Candidates at Twene Amanfo Centre in Sunyani

INFORMATION reaching DAILY GUIDE  from examination centres in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional capital, indicates that more girls absented themselves from the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) as compared to their male counterparts.

The reason for their absence was not immediately known, but some pupils DAILY GUIDE spoke to believed their mates were pregnant and, therefore, felt shy to sit for the exams.

In an interaction with the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Education, Dr. Adjei Hinneh, he said he was still going round to visit the centres to ascertain the number of absentees and the reason for their absence.

He noted that the BECE was extended from April to June to allow the pupils some time to study more to be able to pass the exams convincingly.

“I know the teachers have done their best and the children will surely excel if they take to what their teachers thought them”, he mentioned.

Dr. Hinneh said all centres in the region were ready for the examination and believed everything would go on well as they had planned.

He advised the pupils to read through the questions before they attempted to answer and see the exams as the mock they wrote in school so they could overcome the fear. “Do an independent work and do not rush into answering questions, make sure you understand”, he told the pupils.

He said any centre that would be involved in examination malpractices would be sanctioned by the education service and banned from future examinations.

The Education Director said in all 35, 784 candidates were writing the exams in the region comprising 16,500 girls and 19,754  boys. He also said 1,330 schools were writing the exams including 328 private schools and 1,002 public schools.

Some of the students DAILY GUIDE spoke to, after the first paper, were optimisti of passing the exams with distinction.

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije at the Ga Mantse palace Nuumo Ogbarmey III (middle), Nii Tackie Commey yesterday

Some chiefs and members of the Ga Traditional Council, who called for the axing of  the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, have rescinded their decision following a meeting with the Mayor.

The Chiefs announced their decision when Mr. Vanderpuije visited the Ga Mantse Palace in Accra yesterday to inspect the new office building being put up by the AMA.

Last week, the Chiefs, led by the Sakumono Wulomo, Nuumo Ogbarmey III, accused the Mayor of misappropriating funds running into several millions of cedis and, therefore, called on President John Mahama not only to remove him but also institute a probe into his tenure as the Mayor of Accra.

Speaking on behalf of the chiefs in an interaction with the media at the Ga Mantse Palace yesterday, Sakumono Wulomo, Nuumo Ogbarmey III expressed gratitude to the Mayor for agreeing to work with all the chiefs in developing the Ga state.

He said “We were previously angry with him because he was working with only two chiefs, neglecting the rest of us.  He was paying the two chiefs while they were not even doing any work”.

Nuumo Ogbarmey said all the aggrieved chiefs are now happy because Mr. Vanderpuije had promised to work with all of them in building the Ga state.

“We promise to support him so long as he co-operates and work with all the chiefs. All the allegations we levelled against him is no more important. Now there is peace and we are happy”.

Okoe Vanderpuije told the press that “For the past five months we have been working assiduously to complete works on the new office building but the chiefs did not know so they thought AMA is doing nothing. I, therefore, thought it wise to bring them here to see the works going on for themselves”.

He said works at the palace is in 3 phases, stating that “phase one is the renovation of the assembly’s common room and the offices, phase two is renovation of the durbar ground before the Homowo festival and phase three is renovation of the Ga Mantse palace”.

Okoe Vanderpuije said the AMA was committed and focused on renovating the Ga Mantse palace to befit the culture and traditional system of Accra, adding that “we are ready to collaborate with all the chiefs to build a better millennium city”.

 By Cephas Larbi

The 20 suspected robbers

TWENTY SUSPECTED criminals have been smoked out by a team from the Ashaiman Divisional Police Command in collaboration with personnel from the Tema Community 11 District Police Command last Saturday at some hide-outs of criminals at Ashaiman.

The dawn special swoop was conducted at some criminal dens such as Old Tulaku and Market Square while  others were picked at gethos noted  as  places where criminals converged, smoked, and planned criminal operations before they embarked on their illicit activities.

Some items retrieved from the miscreants were three unregistered motorbikes, 100 wrappers of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, and one portable drilling machine suspected to be used in breaking  doors.

Chief Superintendent David Eklu, Ashaiman Divisional Police Command who confirmed the police special operation to DAILY GUIDE, explained that the exercise organised by the police was part of measures to check criminal activities within Ashaiman and certain parts of Tema.

According to him, police received several reports of criminal operations  being perpetrated by the suspects after converging and smoking dried leaves in serene areas such as Community 9, 10, and 11 in the Tema Metropolis.

Chief Superintendent Eklu said that the suspects would be screened and those found to be involved in any of the criminal activities would be prosecuted.

He appealed to the public to assist the police in the identification exercise, when the time comes, noting that the special operation would continue until criminal activities were reduced to the barest minimum. He further called on “all those who have fallen victim to armed robbery to report at the Ashaiman Divisional Police Command.”

 From Vincent Kubi, Ashaiman

Little Akun Adotey and the deceased Comfort Osei

A 17-year-old nursing mother and her seven-month-old baby boy lost their lives in a fire that gutted their wooden structure home at Nungua early Sunday morning.

The little boy identified as Akun Adotey was burnt to ashes while his mother, Comfort Osei, died later on arrival at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The fire was said to have been sparked by a candle lit by the couple in their wooden apartment on Saturday night after a power outage. However, this statement has been challenged by a relative who said they had been without light for the past three months.

Seth Adotey, husband of Comfort and father of little Akun Adotey, sustained burns and is receiving treatment at Korle Bu.

Narrating the story to DAILY GUIDE, Superintendent Frank Adufati, Accra Regional Crime Officer said the incident occurred around 4:30am on Sunday morning when everybody was asleep.

Seth Adotey lived in that wooden structure with his wife comfort, and their seven-month old baby boy.

Seth Adotey.INSET: The couple’s wooden apartment

The three were sleeping when the fire razed the structure including household items like fridge, a set of furniture, a standing fun, television set, bed and some clothing.

The cause of fire is not yet known but residents suspected it may have started by candle.

The little boy has since been buried by the family.

Meanwhile, Seth Adotey is still on admission at the Korle Bu Burns Centre.

Gifty Selby, a niece of Seth Adotey in an interview with DAILY GUIDE said the fire was caused by a candle which was lit by the couple the previous night.

Gifty said the couple once had electricity in their apartment but they were disconnected three months ago and so they resorted to the use of candle each night.

Around 4:30am we heard shouts for help coming from the wooden apartment of the couple so we all rushed out to help put out the fire.

Seth Adotey was the first person to be rescued by neighbours and rushed to Korle Bu.

Comfort on the other hand came out of the fire but she went inside the fire again in search of her son.

When she was finally rescued, her hands and legs were all burnt.

After finally putting out the fire, the charred body of little Akun was discovered.

Akun was immediately buried after a report was lodged with the Nungua District Police Command.

 By Linda Tenyah

Mary Gyabiah

A sixty-six-year-old woman, Mary Gyabiah, made history when she wrote her first paper in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at the Mansen Senior High School Examination Centre at Wamfie in the Dormaa East District of the Brong-Ahafo Region.

In an interview with pressmen, Madam Gyabiah, a mother of 11, explained that she started school from Primary Three in 2006.

She said although she was a farmer, she realised that one couldn’t progress without education. Madam Gyabiah, who attends Nsesereso-Asuhyiaeso D/A School, said she wanted to turn her life around and impact positively on the lives of children, teachers and opinion leaders in the community.

Asked how she managed with her learning, she noted that although her classmates and teachers helped her, it was not an easy task and appealed to parents not to hesitate to provide the things their wards needed for school to enable their children to climb higher in the education ladder.

She was proud to say that she could now write her name and sign her signature when she goes to the bank instead of thumb-printing.

Touching on some challenges facing her, the 66-year-old woman said her main challenge was a waist problem bedevilling her and appealed to well- meaning Ghanaians and government to come to her aid as she hoped to further her education to the Dormaa Senior High School.

The Dormaa East District Director of Education, Nana Otu Acheampong, noted that Madam Gyabiah had been acting as a role model to the students and teachers as she counselled them, adding that she even advised him.

He said her academic performance was average and hoped she would be able to continue to the Senior High School level.

In a related development, a 45-year-old man at Wamanafo D/A JHS, Abu Musah, is also in JHS Two.

Mr. Musah, who is a cocoa farmer, narrated that during his childhood years, his guardians did not send him to school.
He said he was acquiring formal education to learn how to read because a literate cocoa farmer could not be cheated easily by cocoa purchasing clerks.

He also encouraged young people not to hesitate to go back to the classroom as it was better late than never.

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

I CAN’T LOOK! The shocked Americans fire investigators stormed the Kumasi Central Market yesterday

ATTEMPTS BY the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to reconstruct the burnt Kumasi Central Market was on Monday met with stiff resistance by irate traders.

Some of the affected traders, notably the women, stripped naked at the disaster scene to sternly caution the KMA to refrain from attempting to reconstruct the gutted portion of the market.

The angry market women went naked to register their displeasure about the move to have government to reconstruct the market.

The demonstrating traders stripped off before the two American fire investigators and the Kumasi city authorities in reaction to the news that government was considering reconstructing the market against their wish.

The shocking spectacle was said to have occurred in the presence of two fire investigators from America, who are in the country to assist government unravel what has led to the fire outbreaks at the markets.

The women’s action was said to be indecent; a situation which compelled one of the American fire investigators to close his eyes in shock and yelled “I can’t look, I can’t look”.

Reports have it that a group of policemen, who were armed-to-the-teeth, could not do anything to save the shocking spectacle as the angry-looking women went nude in public.

DAILY GUIDE was told that it took the intervention of some of the traders before their colleagues, who had stripped naked, could put their dresses back on and leave the scene, unscathed.

Other reports have it that the naked women also hurled insults, insinuations and curses at the assembly and the government, warning the two bodies not to interfere in the reconstruction of the gutted market.

The incident happened during a visit by city officials and the fire investigators to the market on Monday morning.

The traders accordingly vowed to rebuild their sheds and stalls that were razed to the ground by a ferocious fire which hit the ‘foss line’ section of the market in the early hours of Sunday.

The blaze started around 1:00am and lasted for close to 12 hours before fire-fighters were able to bring it under control.

Even though the cause of the fire remains unknown and has become a subject of investigation, the traders suspected a sinister plot by government to take away the sheds from them in the name of reconstruction.

This resulted in the half-naked protest by some of the women as officials paid a working visit to the site to assess the extent of damage and also console affected persons.

The Chairman of the Second-hand Clothing Retailer Association, Daniel Ankoma, told DAILY GUIDE they needed government’s assistance in terms of financial support, and not the reconstruction of the market.

Mr. Ankoma noted that any attempt by government to build their sheds would be fearlessly resisted at all cost since the place was outside the central market and was given to them by the Railway Corporation some decades ago.

The Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Kojo Bonsu, led a team of government officials and the American fire investigators to assess the level of impact.

He promised to publish and implement the various recommendations by the investigators to prevent future occurrence of fire outbreaks.

The two American fire investigators, a male and female, were taken round the burnt area during which they took samples of materials that had been reduced to ashes, for preliminary investigations.

They barricaded a particular post and requested the market leaders not to touch anything.

KMA Softens Stance

DAILY GUIDE reports indicated that earlier the KMA, led by Kojo Bonsu, was determined to reconstruct the market; an action which the affected traders vehemently objected to.

Perhaps after realising the fury of the affected traders, especially those that went nude in public on Monday morning, the KMA had decided to back down on its decision.

Speaking at a hurriedly organised press conference in Kumasi late Monday, Kojo Bonsu said the assembly had decided to stay back and allow the affected traders to reconstruct the burnt market.

The KMA, he stated, had also decided to present a staggering GH¢200,000 to help the affected traders carry out the rebuilding of the gutted market on their own without any interference.

He said the affected traders appealed to the KMA to stay off and allow them to reconstruct the market and the assembly realised that the plea of the traders made sense.

He indicated that the market would now be closed to the public at 6:00pm in line with the assembly’s by-laws.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi 

From Left, Prof Adimado, (Chairman of Governing Council), Prof. Opoku-Agyemang (Education Minister), Dr. Afun, Rector in handshake with the Over all Best Student, Razack Amegah

President John Dramani Mahama has passionately appealed to universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions in the country to prioritize the admission of this year’s batch of Senior High School (SHS) graduates.

The President made the appeal in a speech read on his behalf by the Education Minister, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman at the 13th congregation of the Ho Polytechnic in the Volta Region.

The Minister, who occasionally interspersed the President’s speech with her views, noted that tertiary institutions, which creditably handled the 1995 crises in the education sector, should rise up to the occasion this year.

The duration of SHS programme was extended from three to four years during the 2007/2008 academic year to allow students to cover their syllabus.

However the tenure was prematurely reverted to three years in 2010 attracting a lot of criticisms.
The President disclosed that plans were far advanced to institute a Research Fund to cover research undertaken by all institutions, including the tertiary.

The Research Fund, according to the Minister, will make more resources available.

The establishment of the fund became necessary because the current research grant available to institutions was not properly handled.

The Minister, who called for the support of all stakeholders, commended the Polytechnic for initially implementing the Competence Based Training, CBT initiative, adding that Polytechnics are the fulcrum to drive development in developing countries like Ghana.

Prof. Opoku-Agyeman noted that GETFund projects are being assessed.

She commended the lecturers and parents for supporting the graduates and wished them well.

The Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Victor Jakpasu Afun complained about inadequate lecture halls, laboratories, teaching and learning equipment, as well as accommodation for staff and students.

He revealed that the Polytechnic added HND Banking and Finance and HND Purchasing and Supply to their courses.
In all, about 1,079 students graduated with 15 of them attaining first class in their various programmes.

The Overall Best Student award went to Razack Kwesi Kwebu Amegah, a HND Building Technology student.

Awuyeh Dennis Kwesi received the Henreita Acolatse Memorial Award for the Best Secretarial English student.
The Francis Ganyaglo Award for the Best Marketing Student was presented to Nyadzor Gabriel while the Japan Motors Award for the Best Automobile Student was received by Philemon Hene.

Amenyo Richard Yaw also received the Abdalah Alia Best Student in Taxation Award.
The Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, Togbe Afede, the Deputy Regional Minister, Francis Ganyaglo and Prof. Anthony Adimado, Chairman of Ho-Poly Governing Council graced the occasion.

From Fred Duodu, Ho

Cutlass

A 26-year-old woman from Bomaa, near Duayaw Nkwanta in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region, had her most treasured asset, the clitoris severed following a quarrel with her estranged husband.

Akua Serwaa, a mother of three, who was left in a pool of blood after the incident, was rushed to the St John of God Hospital at Duayaw Nkwanta, where she is currently on admission receiving treatment, while the police have launched a manhunt for her estranged husband, Atta Kwaku, 30, who has vanished into thin air after committing the heinous act.

The barbaric incident, DAILY GUIDE gathered, happened around 9:30pm on Thursday night after the suspect had invited the victim to his house to collect some money to take care of their three children as he was billed to travel the following day.

The couple, the paper learnt, had some marital problems a couple of weeks ago compelling the victim to relocate to her family house located in the same town.

According to reports DAILY GUIDE gathered from sources close to the family, Atta Kwaku, after the act, supposedly called her mother-in-law on the phone to inform her about all that had happened.

He claimed that there was a quarrel with his wife and the woman attempted to strangle his balls, so in self-defence, he mutilated her clitoris in the process. He fled the town after narrating his side of the incident.

Meanwhile, the victim, Akua Serwaa is yet to tell medics and the police what caused her present situation. For reasons known to her, the victim had at the time of filing this report, refused to disclose her ordeal to the medics and investigators.

FROM Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako, Sunyani

The burnt Kumasi market

DOZENS OF stores, mainly wooden structures, at the Kumasi Central Market, have been turned into ashes after a severe fire outbreak ravaged parts of the market in the early hours of Sunday.

Traders were seen wailing uncontrollably as they watched while the ferocious fire consumed their goods.

The blaze started around 1:00am at the ‘18 mu’ also called ‘foss line’ section of the market, where second hand clothes dealers mainly operate. It happened when the city was quiet and with swift speed as it flattened everything in its path.

The outbreak comes in the wake of series of fires at the country’s markets including Kantamanto, Makola Number 2, and Dome all in Accra.

Fire-fighters had tough time trying to contain the flames that lasted for close to 12 hours as military and police personnel cordoned off the area to prevent unscrupulous persons and looters from stealing wares of the victims.

Even though the cause of the fire remains unknown and has become a subject of investigation, some traders said they suspected the fire to have been sparked by a power surge.
It is the second fire outbreak occurring this year alone at the biggest market in the Garden City.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) quickly responded to a distress call to help, but poor planning of the place prevented the fire-fighters from getting close to the scene to douse the blaze in time.

Phillip Arhin Mensah, of the GNFS, lamented to the press that poor planning at the market thwarted the efforts of the fire-fighters as they struggled to get close to the scene.

He also bemoaned the fact that most fire hydrants in the city had been built on and this, among other challenges, made things extremely difficult for his men in their attempt to battle the inferno.

Mr. Mensah said despite the difficulty, the fire-fighters managed to control the main fire around 3:30am and as at the time of filing this report on Sunday afternoon, the firemen were still dealing with pockets of fires at the place. Smokes were still billowing from the market.

He could not readily pinpoint what caused the fire, saying that it was too early for the GNFS to come into conclusion with regard to the cause of the inferno.

He promised his men would investigate the cause of the fire.

Fire outbreaks, especially at markets, have suddenly become the order of the day in the country in recent times.

Several markets and homes in the country have been gutted by infernos. Most of the fires have destroyed property and in some cases claimed human lives.

The President Mahama-led administration, which seemed overwhelmed about the situation, is suspecting arson and has consequently called for foreign help to unravel the cause of the fires in the country.

Currently there are American investigators in the country probing the recent Makola No2 market at Agbogbloshie in Accra where the whole market was razed down.

The Kantanmanto market, popularly known for the sale of second hand clothing, had earlier been burnt to ashes.

When DAILY GUIDE visited the Kumasi market fire scene yesterday morning, hundreds of people, most of whom were traders who had been affected by the fire disaster, had gathered at the place stretching their necks to see what was happening.

Some of these affected traders were seen shedding uncontrollable tears as they watched in awe while their valuable source of livelihood got destroyed by the blaze.

The Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Samuel Yaw Adusei, who visited the place to console the affected traders, said he was not pleased with the rampant fire outbreaks notably at market places in the country.

He called for serious investigations to be undertaken to determine what caused the inferno.

The Deputy Minister admonished the affected traders to calm down even in the face of the heavy calamity that had hit them, noting that the government was firmly behind them.

A heavy police presence was seen at the place and the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Augustine Gyenning said his men were at the place to deal with the looters.

According to him, miscreants often rushed to disaster scenes, just to cash in on the situation with the evil intention of stealing the goods, stressing that the police presence was to prevent looting and lawlessness at the disaster scene.

 FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr. & Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi

Dr Obeng Andoh

Dr. Dominic Obeng-Andoh, owner and Chief Executive of the Obengfo Hospital, says he would be reporting to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) this morning but has challenged claims that he is a quack doctor and dared any person with such evidence to make it public rather than tarnish his reputation with malicious rumours.

“I am not a quack doctor. I have training for all the things that I do and my hospital is fully equipped with some of the most advanced equipment for doing what we do here. And this is very important, I have not killed anybody. I am not a killer I am a medical doctor. Of course it is a hospital and someone may die here or at any other hospital anywhere in the world. Having a death situation in a hospital is possible and does not make a doctor a killer,” Dr.  Obeng-Andoh also known as ‘Obengfo’ told DAILY GUIDE.

The medical doctor, at the close of last week, became a subject of media bashing after a radio station in Accra reported that three persons with undisclosed identities, who went to the Obengfo Hospital for ‘liposuction’, had suffered life threatening complications. The station reported further that another patient, who drove to the hospital healthy and strong, was later found dead in a pool of blood by his family and they noticed he had ‘three openings’: two on the side of his body and another at the umbilical cord.

DAILY GUIDE visited the Obengfo Hospital and first asked Dr. Obeng-Andoh whether it was true he was under police investigations over the allegations.

“The Food and Drugs Board was the first to invite me on Thursday, apparently because of the media reports. I showed up and after some three hours management could not meet me that day so they rescheduled the meeting to Friday.  On Friday, I went there only for them to say I should rather go to the CID headquarters to write my statement. I went, wrote my statement, got bailed and the police asked me to return on Monday morning at 10am. I spent a few hours there but they were very professional,” he stated.

Reports say you have not been licensed to practise as a surgeon.

I am a doctor. I have never made any claim that I am a plastic surgeon and I don’t even believe in saying things like that. I tell my patients what I can do for them and I do them. However, the procedure of liposuction is an aspect of plastic surgery. It is just like doing a caesarean section which in actual fact forms part of the surgical operation of a gynaecologist. But a doctor who performs a caesarean section must not necessarily be a gynaecologist to do that.

The rule for medical practice is that no doctor must do a procedure that the person has no training in. Your moral grounds would not even allow you to do a procedure you have no training in. Training comes in various ways. Aside from the knowledge base you have, you also need hands-on training.

Have you been trained as a Doctor?

I was trained at the school of Medical Sciences at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. I graduated in 1997. I had my house job training there and then at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Then I worked as a Medical Officer in Korle Bu. I have been in private practice since 2000. But a few years back, I went to Florida to have this specialised training in liposuction. I did the basic, intermediary and the advanced training in liposuction. I got a specific training in high definition liposuction through the use of Vaser.

So where from the tag ‘quack doctor’?

I find this very strange. I heard one doctor say I am not a plastic surgeon. For the records, you don’t need to be a plastic surgeon to do liposuction, just like you don’t need to be an Obstetrician Gynaecologist to do a caesarean session. You don’t need to become a surgical consultant of a professor to do a hernia surgery.  It is needless to cloud this entire thing in some mystery when we know that the most important thing needed is that the person must be trained to stand alone to do the operation and handle complications.

Have You Been Banned?

Nobody had banned me from practising as a doctor. My licence is clean and intact and my record as a doctor is very good and worth writing home about. What is true is that somewhere last year, the Medical and Dental Council came out with a judgment that I had been suspended from practising as a medical doctor for three years because I had mounted a billboard advertising my services as a cosmetic doctor.

So this had nothing to do with your credentials as a medical doctor?

No way. It was over a sign board. They said I had put up a sign board so they had suspended me for three years. I found that regrettable that a body can meet over such an allegation and without even inviting me to ask me if it was true or not, or at least hearing me defend myself as natural justice demands, they sat over an issue which they said concerns me and passed judgement on their own and decided I should be banned for three years. Incredible!!! My lawyers were quick to challenge that decision and the case is pending before the High Court.

But let us even assume without admitting that I had indeed erred by putting up a signboard, so you suspend a medical doctor for three years over a sign-board? Jesus Christ!!! Which hospital in Ghana does not have a signboard of some sort?  And I find nothing wrong with that. I even believe that because of the illiteracy rate of our society, we should be able to communicate through visuals, especially for persons who need medical attention but cannot read and understand the word ‘HOSPITAL’.

But Your Patients Are Complaining To The Media

Jesus me! Here are people I do not even know and I find that strange. A journalist comes to my office that a patient I treated had reported to his media house that there were complications after the treatment and I asked who the patient is so we know what exactly the situation is. No one has told me who exactly the patient is or what exactly is the complaint. All I hear on Joy FM and read on their website is that three of my patients, whose names they want to keep secret, are saying that they have life-threatening complications after coming to me.  How do I even respond to that?

Even if you gave me the patient’s name, I would never discuss the person’s medical history with you until the patient in question gives me a categorical permission written and signed. So in the absence of permission from this unknown patient, I wonder what I should be telling the media when a journalist decides to run down my reputation and credibility with such a sad report.

Cosmetic surgery is all about appearance. So the journalist may have to see pictures of the state in which the person came to the hospital and compare that with the state of the person after the procedure. But to just put a picture that shows some scars on someone’s stomach on the internet and say the person was my patient so I should explain, I find that odd. Let us get the person’s permission to show pictures of the ‘before and after’ photographs.

Have You Ever Had Complications?

I cannot say I am a perfect doctor who has never had complications. Any professional doctor who has done surgical procedures and not had complications may have not practised long enough. Complications are not strange in our practice and sometimes come up and are treated. But it does not mean the doctor is quack.  I have done several operations running into thousands. Judge me by my record and not just by one or two selected instances which I have not even been told who the patient is or what the situation is. It is true I have the requisite training, experience and most advanced equipment but I am not God. Yes I have several thousands of success stories but I won’t say I have never had a complication that had to be reviewed and treated.

When a patient has a complication, he may return to you or go to another doctor. I have had several patients coming to me with complications. Sometimes I treat them, or refer them back to their doctors because they may have the full history and all that. But I do not go to the media to condemn the doctor. That is unethical and I am surprised some doctors would go to the media to condemn me when they have not even spoken to me to ask what exactly the situation is. This is not right.

You Left A Man Dead In A Pool of Blood

There has been no patient such as that who has had any procedure that has been left in a pool of blood for a relative to come and see that way. That narration is absolutely wrong. If you say there was an instance of death, well, my condolences go to the family but issues of life and death are such that sympathy is always shown to the bereaved so let me leave it here because a specific name has been mentioned but I do not have the permission to discuss the person’s health record with the public. In general terms, when a death occurs in a hospital, there is a corona’s investigation and report and all that. But as I said I do not have any permission to disclose any details.

Any Final Words?

People are crying silently because they have lost the shape of their body and do not know there is a treatment or remedy for it. Others who have the means are travelling outside the country to do these same things I do here because they do not know we can do these things here. Interestingly, we are now having clients from other countries flying to Ghana just to do liposuction.

Our critics are mostly people who do not understand what we do here or they have their own prejudices about cosmetic surgery.  These procedures I am doing have been done for my own wife and people who are close by me. Why should I want to see my wife dead or people close to me dead? I only pray that as we go along the line, some of my happy patients would come out to tell their stories about the experience they have had.

 By Halifax Ansah-Addo