Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, has raised concerns over the shortage of specialised healthcare personnel and critical medical equipment in Ghana, revealing that only two practising cardiologists are currently serving the entire northern sector of the country.
Speaking at the government’s Accountability Series on Monday, May 11, Obuobia said a nationwide assessment conducted by the Trust Fund uncovered deep inequalities in access to specialised healthcare, particularly in deprived and underserved regions.
According to her, the exercise formed part of efforts to identify the country’s most urgent healthcare gaps following the establishment of the Fund, a situation that highlights the urgent need for sustained investment in specialised healthcare infrastructure and personnel to bridge existing inequalities in access to treatment.
She explained that the assessment covered 21 health facilities, including six teaching hospitals, nine regional hospitals and referral facilities across the six newly created regions. The findings, she noted, exposed major infrastructural deficiencies and severe shortages in specialised healthcare personnel needed to improve healthcare delivery nationwide.
“Across all facilities accessed, there were only two MRI machines and five mammogram machines. Additionally, there are only two radiotherapy machines within the public sector and one in the private sector, located in Accra and Kumasi,” she added.
To address the challenges, Obuobia announced that the Ghana Medical Trust Fund has commenced the construction of three state-of-the-art cardiology centres at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Tamale Teaching Hospital in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
She said the facilities will include catheterisation laboratories, hybrid theatres, intensive care units, recovery wards and modern diagnostic facilities aimed at expanding Ghana’s capacity for specialised cardiac and vascular care.
