Dr. Reginald Kofi Sefah Nkansah, the acting Medical Director, said the hospital presently lacked the capacity – expertise and equipment to perform heart surgery, a complex surgical procedure.

He told a press conference at Ankaase that the said news report circulating on the social media was fake. “This information is not coming from the hospital as it is being alleged” and he called for the public to ignore and to see it as a scam.

Various social media platforms were on Monday and Tuesday awash with the news that the hospital in conjunction with an American organization, would be organizing free heart surgery for children, from December 10 - 21, and invited people, whose children had such conditions to bring them for treatment

Dr. Nkansah said the facility, now serving as district hospital and referral centre for many smaller health facilities, had been working in closely with key stakeholders and could not undertake such important and complex exercise on the blind side of the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana, Health Ministry, Christian Health Association of Ghana, Nurses and Midwives Council of Ghana, the Pharmacy Council, Allied Health Professional Council of Ghana and others.

He called for the security agencies to investigate and track down persons behind the misinformation.  Mr. Joseph Atta Amankwaa, the General Manager, said the hospital had been inundated with telephone calls from people both within and outside Ghana including Zimbabwe, Togo, Benin and Europe, seeking to bring their children for the free surgery.

He added that the false information had caused embarrassment to the management.