The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) has given the assurance that the renovation of the external facade of its Maternity Block will be completed within the next four months.

It said the renovation works, which would include casting, plastering, painting and fixing of the windows, were currently 80 per cent complete and expected to be completed within schedule.

The Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr Isaac Koranteng, disclosed this during a tour of ongoing project sites of the hospital by the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Frank Owusu Sekyere, and some management team of the hospital to ascertain the progress of work.

Other project sites the acting CEO and the management of the hospital visited included the reconstruction of the wall of the Korle Bu SSNIT Flat Residential Area for staff of the hospital, the newly renovated Ward H that houses accident victims who are males; the ongoing renovation at Ward E, which is an elective ward for gynaecological cases and the oxygen centre.

Maternity Block

The Maternity Block of the KBTH has been in the news in recent times for its deplorable state.

Some of the metals in the exterior of the building were exposed, the castings were falling off and cracks were in some parts of the building.

Dr Koranteng said the hospital had the option of building a new maternity block, unfortunately getting land to put up that size of facility was difficult and because the pillars and beams of the current building were still very strong, the CEO and the hospital authorities settled on the renovation to give it a facelift.

He said the contractor on his timelines said work would be completed within six months and currently, they were two months into the works.

He said at the pace that the work was going, they were very hopeful that if they carried on with it that way, they were convinced that they would be able to complete the renovation in due time.

“If you have an opportunity to go inside, you will realise the inside looks very new. Most of the walls have been renovated in the past few years.

It's only the outside we don’t have the privilege to renovate, so that is what we are doing. We are making the outside new,” he said.

Dr Owusu-Sekyere said they hoped that when completed, the hospital would be able to admit a lot more patients that come there to seek their services and also be able to address the no-bed syndrome that the hospital had often been tagged with.

The acting CEO said the initial cost of the renovation was supposed to be GH¢3.5 million, however, due to new things coming up, they might spend either GH¢4 million or GH¢5 million for the renovation.

Ward H

At Ward H, which is one of the main wards of the Orthopaedic and Trauma Department, the Head, Dr Frederick Kwarteng, said hitherto, the ward was in a dilapidated state and, therefore, not fit for nursing humans.

In 2022, he stated, the ward was closed down for renovations and this was fully sponsored by the department using their maintenance revenue and profits from the sale of orthopaedic implants, which the hospital was known for its highest sale in the country.

Dr Kwarteng said the renovation of the ward, which cost them GH¢1.5 million, now had decent washrooms for inpatients and a convenient place to rest for doctors and nurses who came on night shift.

Additionally, he said, it had reduced congestion at the accident and emergency department.