Imagine being rushed to the hospital in desperate need of care - only to be told - No bed, no treatment.That’s the grim reality at Tafo Government Hospital, where a critical shortage of beds is forcing patients onto hard floors and cramped corridors.

The huge facility is on the brink where the sick fight for space before they can even fight for their lives.

The Tafo Government Hospital in the Old Tafo Municipality of the Ashanti Region has been overwhelmed by congestion, leaving patients to suffer in dire conditions. 
 
The hospital's wards are filled to capacity, with in-patients spilling out into the corridors.

 The situation is exacerbated by the absence of a functional maternity block and major infrastructural development. 
   
The corridors of the hospital are narrow and crowded, with patients, relatives, and medical staff jostling for space.
 
As you step into the hospital, the sounds of desperation fill the air. 
 
Patients struggle for space, some on makeshift beds, others forced to sit or stand, waiting for attention from the overworked medical staff. 

 “It is difficult to work in this condition” the nurse in charge of the neonatal unit of the hospital lamented.
 
The hospital's congestion is not a new phenomenon, but it has worsened in recent years. 
 
The patient population has grown exponentially, while the hospital's infrastructure has remained stagnant. 
 
Medical superintendent, Dr. Eric Kwame Deto bemoans the infrastructural deficit of the hospital.
 
“Tafo Government Hospital is very old. If you ask me, infrastructurally, I won’t call it a hospital. We have to do something about it ” he decried.

According to Dr. Kwame Deto, the congestion of the hospital forces them not to admit some patients.
 
“In terms of the number of beds we have here, sometimes we have to turn some of the patients away because we can't admit all of them” he revealed.
 
The maternity block, which was intended to provide a safe and comfortable space for expectant mothers, has been under construction for 23 years, with no end in sight.

 
Dr. Kwame Deto says the stalled project has become a worry as its old block is deprived of space.
 
“since 2002, almost 23 years now, the project hasn’t seen completion” he added.
 
Patients and their relatives are also calling for help, frustrated by the lack of progress and the poor conditions at the hospital.
 
According to a nursing mother, “I stood up the whole night. I couldn’t sleep. The bed is not enough for my baby and myself. A boy fell yesternight. It is not comfortable at all to be here”.

Another patient also said, “We are not comfortable at all because the bed is not sufficient and the room is very small”.

 
The 23-year-old maternity block stands as a testament to the failure of the healthcare system, a reminder of the work that needs to be done to provide quality care to patients. 
 
This is a sick hospital in a dire need of improved conditions.