The Nkwanta South Municipal Hospital in the Oti Region is in urgent need of infrastructural rehabilitation as rising patient attendance at its Out-Patient Department (OPD) continues to stretch an ageing facility beyond capacity.

The hospital, which dates back several decades, began as the Nkwanta Clinic before being upgraded first to a district hospital and later to its current status as a municipal hospital.

Despite these successive administrative elevations, the facility has not undergone any major infrastructural redevelopment.

A visit by Adom News revealed a troubling picture of neglect and decay. Several buildings on the hospital compound have deteriorated significantly, with window frames and doors in many blocks completely broken or collapsed.

In some sections, vegetation has overgrown parts of the walls, further reflecting years of limited maintenance.

Structural damage is also evident, with cracked walls and broken floor finishes across multiple units. Some wards and service blocks reportedly leak heavily during rainfall, posing additional challenges to both patients and healthcare workers.

Beyond the physical state of the infrastructure, the hospital is also grappling with severe equipment shortages.

Medical personnel are said to be relying on outdated tools and limited diagnostic resources, constraining their ability to deliver efficient and modern healthcare services.

During a weekend outreach programme at the facility, the Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Health, Koku Awoonor-Williams, expressed concern over the hospital’s condition, noting that it falls far below acceptable global healthcare standards.

He called on the government to intervene urgently to restore and modernise the facility.

The hospital remains a critical healthcare hub for the Nkwanta enclave, serving not only residents in the municipality but also patients from neighbouring communities in the Republic of Togo, underscoring its regional importance and the urgency of its rehabilitation.