The Head of Public Affairs at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kwame Frimpong, has called on the government to expedite the operationalisation of the Sewua Hospital and the Afari Military Hospital to help ease mounting pressure on healthcare delivery in the Ashanti Region.
His appeal follows severe overcrowding at KATH’s Accident and Emergency Centre, which has forced the hospital to temporarily suspend new emergency admissions after patient numbers exceeded the facility’s capacity.
Speaking to OTECNEWS on Tuesday, June 2, Mr. Frimpong said the Ashanti Region continues to rely heavily on KATH as its main specialist referral facility, despite having a population comparable to that of the Greater Accra Region, which is served by several specialist hospitals.
He noted that in Greater Accra, hospitals such as Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Ridge Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), Tema General Hospital, as well as several quasi-state facilities, share the burden of emergency care.
According to him, the completion and operationalisation of the Sewua and Afari hospitals would significantly reduce the burden on KATH and improve access to healthcare services in the region.
“The expectation was that the regional hospital at Sewua and the military hospital at Afari would by now be taking some of the burden off Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Regrettably, that has not happened, even though these facilities have largely been completed,” he said.
Mr. Frimpong noted that the two hospitals could add an estimated 750 beds to the region’s healthcare capacity, helping to address persistent congestion at KATH.
“We are told the Afari hospital has about 500 beds and the Sewua hospital about 250 beds. Together, they will bring approximately 750 additional beds to augment what Komfo Anokye currently has,” he stated.
He explained that healthcare infrastructure planning is largely based on population size and argued that the current concentration of specialist healthcare services at KATH is unsustainable.
“Healthcare service delivery planning is population-based. Greater Accra has a similar population but benefits from multiple specialist hospitals. Until the disparity in the number and size of hospitals is addressed, we will continue to face these challenges from time to time,” he added.
The KATH spokesperson expressed hope that government would take the necessary steps to fully operationalise the two facilities, describing the move as critical to strengthening healthcare delivery in the Ashanti Region and beyond.
