The Queen Mother of the Sawua Traditional Council in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region, Nana Akosua Abrafi Afisaa II, has issued a passionate appeal to President John Dramani Mahama, the Ministry of Health, and the Ghana Health Service to take immediate steps to revive the stalled Sawua Regional Hospital project.
The 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sawua in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region is one of the health facilities being undertaken by Euroget De-Invest across the region to ease congestion at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, while ensuring accessibility to healthcare delivery.
Her call comes amid growing concern over the deplorable condition of the hospital, which, though still under commissioning, has already suffered significant structural damage and pest infestation, making it unfit to serve its intended purpose.
“We have this nice edifice here which could serve a large number of patients and release pressure from the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), yet we face a lot of maternal mortality here at Sawua due to the abundance of this Regional Hospital,” Nana Akosua stated.
She stressed that the delay in operationalising the facility is costing lives, especially among pregnant women who are forced to seek care far from their community.
“I’m pleading with President John Dramani Mahama, Health Ministry, Ghana Health Service, and other stakeholders to ensure that the Sawua Regional Hospital is attended to, to allow operations to cater for the healthcare of patients in the community and Ghana as a whole,” she added.
A visit to the hospital by this reporter revealed disturbing scenes. The modern structure, once hailed as a potential game-changer in regional healthcare delivery, has become a haven for pests such as snakes and rats. Parts of the roofing have been ripped off by strong winds, several doors have been removed or damaged, and the drainage system has collapsed, leaving gutters clogged or broken.
“Are we going to leave the edifice to deteriorate to the level where we’ll have spend tax payers money to renovate before it can serve its purpose?” the Queen Mother questioned.
Her concerns underscore the pressing need for the government and health authorities to act swiftly to save the investment and put the hospital into operation. Residents of Sawua and surrounding communities have long looked to the facility as a beacon of hope for accessible healthcare, especially to ease the burden on Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
Stakeholders are being urged to heed the call and prevent the further decline of a hospital meant to transform healthcare in the Bosomtwe District and beyond.
About the hospital
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Saturday, 4th January 2025, commissioned the 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital and a 50-bed Infectious Disease Centre in Sewua in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region.
The Ashanti Regional Hospital in Sewua was the third biggest hospital in the Ashanti Region after the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the completed Afari Military Hospital. The hospital is expected to ease pressure on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, which is Ghana’s second-largest referral facility after Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Together with the 50-bed Infectious Disease Centre – one of 12 facilities built with COVID-19 funding across the country to manage infectious diseases, the facility, which now stands as the biggest regional hospital across the country, serves as a vital lifeline for the region, bridging gaps in healthcare delivery and ensuring that people of the region have unimpeded access to universal health coverage and improved health outcomes.
This modern health facility is fully equipped with an administration block, out-patients department, physiotherapy, gynaecology wards, sterilization, intensive care unit, maternity and delivery suites, laboratory, pharmacy, theatre complex, laundry and a medical gas plant for the production of medical gases.
The project is part of the nine Euroget hospital projects initiated by ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2008.
In all, seven out of these nine hospitals, which were hitherto left abandoned following the expiration of the Kufuor government in 2009, have been completed by President Akufo-Addo.
The nine Euroget Hospitals are the 500-bed Military Hospital at Afari in Kumasi, the 160-bed Wa Regional Hospital, the 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua and the 100-bed Ga East Municipal Hospital at Kwabenya.
In addition to these five 60-bed Hospitals at Tepa, Konongo, Twifo Praso and Madina are also part of the project.
Aside from the Infectious Disease Centre which was also commissioned at Sewua, President Akufo-Addo also commissioned another Infectious Disease Centre at the Kumasi South Hospital in Chiraptre.
Chief of Sewua, Nana Kwaku Amankwaa Sarkodie, was grateful to President Akufo-Addo for ensuring that the project which was begun by their son, ex-President Kufuor, has now been fully completed.
