The Tamale Teaching Hospital has received equipment to cater for pregnant women and patients needing dialysis, curtailing the need to travel up to 501kilometers or 7 hours by road for the closest source of treatment.

Patients in Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions have had to travel to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to get MRI and CT scans or a dialysis treatment for those who suffer kidney failure.

Outgoing Health Minister Dr. Kwaku Agyemang Mensah commissioned these facilities at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The impact of these equipment is enormous for the region in the SADA enclave. Last year, eight expectant mothers died because they did not have access to an MRI machine and CT scan.

Now the Tamale Teaching Hospital will have to find how to run the equipment affordably yet profitably.

According to Chief Executive of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Prosper Akamnong, dialysis treatment costs between $150 to $200 at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

“We will look at the local circumstances and see how we can break even just to allow the service to be affordable…..there is no need to put a range that people can’t afford it but it will have to be reasonable enough”, CEO Prosper Akamnong told Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng.

The regions within the SADA enclave are among the most impoverished regions in Ghana.

But one other challenge the hospital would not have to worry about is reliable power supply.

The hospital has also secured a dedicated power line from Akosombo to supply them with 24 hour energy supply.