Congestion at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is worsening, as the facility continues to grapple with deficit in accommodation for patients.

Hospital authorities are looking up to the government for the release of land for expansion projects.

This was revealed during the hospital’s 2021 mid-year performance review conference.

The increase in road accidents and improvement in the operations of the National Ambulance Service have resulted in increased referrals to the Accident and Emergency Centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

According to the Chief Executive, Dr. Oheneba Owusu-Danso, this has led to congestion in the hospital.

Clinical staff of the hospital have to endure prolonged stress and burn-out.

“Consequently, the Orange Ward at the A & E Centre, for instance, which was originally designed to accommodate 12 patients, is now used for the care of 52 patients daily,” he said.

“The current situation is affecting patient care and subjecting members of our clinical teams to chronic stress and burn-out because of the persistent overcrowded admissions,” Dr. Owusu-Danso observed.

He further indicated the completion of the first phase of the Maternity and Children Project will not be enough to accommodate clients.

The hospital has therefore appealed to the government to speed up processes in the release of adjoining military land to expand the project.

“The KATH Management would like to emphasize the passionate appeal for the processes leading to the release of additional land from the adjoining military land to be expedited to allow for the expansion of existing facilities and the start of a number of proposed donor partner-supported clinical projects,” the CEO said. 

The hospital has recorded a significant increase in most of its clinical activities for the first-half of 2021.

The Specialist Out-Patient department recorded 114,783 cases in 2021 against the 90,340 in 2020 which represents a 27.06 per cent increase.

In-patient admissions recorded a 14.45 per cent increase with a figure of 9,324 for 2021 and 8,147 in 2020.