President John Dramani Mahama has underscored the need for Ghana to develop a stronger maintenance culture in the health sector, warning that huge investments in medical infrastructure and equipment will continue to go to waste without proper management systems.

Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of a new catheterisation laboratory (Cath Lab) at the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, President Mahama said the country must learn from past investments that failed to achieve their full value due to poor maintenance.

He recalled that under the administration of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, during which he served as Vice President, the government invested about $250 million in retooling major regional and teaching hospitals across the country.

According to him, the investment provided critical medical equipment, including CT scanners, MRI machines, X-ray machines and other essential diagnostic tools.

“When I was Vice President to Professor Atta Mills, we spent about $250 million to retool all the major regional and teaching hospitals in this country. We provided CT scans, MRI machines, X-rays and all the major equipment that was needed,” he said.

However, President Mahama expressed concern that several years after the investment, many of the machines had broken down due to inadequate maintenance, forcing health facilities to request new equipment.

“A few years after that, we found out that most of that equipment was not properly maintained and had broken down, and the hospitals were calling on the government again to do another retooling or replace the equipment. It is not a sustainable model,” he stated.

The President said the experience highlights the urgent need for public institutions to prioritise preventive maintenance to safeguard national investments and ensure that health facilities remain functional.

He explained that lessons from previous challenges have informed the government’s new approach to managing health equipment.

According to him, Cabinet has approved the establishment of Ghana Medical Equipment Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, to oversee the proper use and maintenance of medical equipment across the country.

“We have established a different model for this retooling that we are doing, and so Cabinet has approved the Ghana Medical Equipment Services Limited, which will be a subsidiary of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.

“This will be specialised biomedical engineers who will oversee and supervise the use and maintenance of the equipment,” he explained.

President Mahama added that the new entity will also be responsible for facilitating the replacement of equipment that is damaged beyond repair.

“They will be the vehicle if the equipment is broken down beyond repair and has to be replaced. We believe that this will be a more sustainable model so that the investment Ghanaians have put in will not go to waste like in the past,” he added.

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The President said the commissioning of the new Cath Lab demonstrates the government’s commitment to strengthening specialised healthcare delivery, particularly in the management of non-communicable diseases.

He noted that improving access to advanced medical services locally will also help reduce the number of Ghanaians who travel abroad for treatment.