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A 2024 audit report has uncovered serious financial and administrative lapses at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), commonly known as Cottage Hospital, including salary payments of more than NLe400,000 to staff whose employment status could not be verified.
According to the audit report, twenty staff members of the hospital failed to appear for a mandatory physical verification exercise conducted by auditors. Despite their absence, records show that salaries amounting to NLe432,146.18 were paid to these individuals during the period under review.
The auditors stated that they could not confirm whether the staff were actively working at the facility or providing any services for which they were paid, raising concerns about the possible existence of “ghost workers” on the hospital’s payroll.
The audit findings also highlighted long-standing infrastructural problems at the hospital, particularly at the mortuary. Auditors reported that the mortuary remains in a deplorable state, despite earlier recommendations for urgent repairs.
The cooling system used to preserve corpses was found to be completely damaged, and no structural maintenance had been carried out since the previous audit. Interviews conducted with mortuary staff during the audit confirmed that no remedial action had been taken.
The auditors noted that the failure to address these issues points to weaknesses in management oversight and compliance with audit recommendations. They warned that continued neglect of critical infrastructure, alongside unverified salary payments, poses serious risks to service delivery at the country’s leading maternity facility.
In the report, the audit team recommended that the Medical Superintendent of PCMH, working closely with the Chief Medical Officer and the Senior Permanent Secretary, take immediate steps to resolve the issues identified. These include repairing the mortuary facilities and strengthening staff verification processes to ensure that only legitimate employees are paid.
The audit report emphasized that addressing these concerns is essential to restoring public confidence in the hospital and improving accountability within the public health system. It also highlighted broader challenges facing Sierra Leone’s health sector, where limited resources are further strained by weak financial controls and poor enforcement of management decisions.
Auditors concluded that unless decisive action is taken, unverified payroll payments and deteriorating infrastructure will continue to undermine fiscal discipline and compromise the quality of healthcare provided to patients.
