The Management of the Wa Municipal Hospital in the Upper West Region has issued an urgent appeal for support to rehabilitate its ageing infrastructure and replace obsolete medical equipment.
They have stated that the deteriorating condition of the facility is compromising healthcare delivery in the Upper West Region.
The Hospital, which has served the people of Wa and surrounding communities for more than 100 years, is grappling with ageing buildings, outdated medical equipment and an electrical system that officials say has become a major threat to both patient safety and healthcare delivery.
Speaking during a visit to the facility by the delegation of the Overlord of the Waala State, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, the Medical Direc tor, Dr Bukari Zakari, said the hospital has evolved from a duty post to a health centre, later becoming a district hospital, a regional hospital and now a municipal hospital.
However, he noted that the infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the increasing demand for quality healthcare.
According to Dr Zakari, critical medical equipment used in the mortuary, Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), laboratory, dental unit and operating theatres are more than 30 years old and have exceeded their recommended lifespan.
“Most of the equipment are very old and have exceeded their lifespan. We continue to spend huge amounts on maintenance just to keep services running, but because of their age, they cannot always produce the quality results needed for effective clinical decisions,” Dr Zakari stated.
He explained that the hospital spends significant resources repairing ageing equipment instead of investing in replacements, resulting in frequent breakdowns that disrupt essential medical services.
Beyond obsolete equipment, Dr Zakari said the hospital’s infrastructure is in a worrying state.
He disclosed that several buildings have developed large cracks, while leaking asbestos roofs continue to damage hospital property during the rainy season.
The hospital’s electrical wiring, installed more than 50 years ago, has also become obsolete.
“Our wiring system is over 50 years old. It damages computers, laboratory machines and other medical equipment because of constant power fluctuations,” he said.
The medical superintendent further revealed that blocked sewer lines, deteriorating washrooms and faulty water pumps have created difficult working conditions for staff.
“In fact, the working conditions of our staff are among the poorest in the region,” he added.
Theatre struggles with broken equipment
The Head of Anaesthesia, Dr Peter Paul Dery, also described the challenges confronting the hospital’s surgical unit as critical.
He said the theatre lacks a fully functional sterilisation unit capable of properly disinfecting surgical instruments before operations.
“We are supposed to have a complete sterilisation unit, but what we currently have is inadequate. It cannot even accommodate enough instruments,” he explained.
The hospital also has only one functioning diathermy machine instead of the recommended two, limiting surgeons’ ability to control bleeding during operations.
More worrying, he said, is the breakdown of the hospital’s only anaesthesia machine, a donated piece of equipment that has been in use for over 16 years.
According to Dr Peter Paul, Management previously spent about GH¢90,000 replacing major components of the machine, but its power board has once again failed.
“Without this machine, major surgeries become very difficult because if spinal anaesthesia fails, we have to manually ventilate the patient throughout the operation. That is not the safest situation for patients,” he said.
He noted that manually ventilating patients during operations lasting two to three hours places enormous pressure on theatre staff and increases clinical risks.
Appeal for urgent intervention
The theatre is also operating with inadequate suction machines, faulty operating lamps and without voltage stabilisers to protect sensitive medical equipment from frequent power fluctuations.
Dr Paul attributed many of the equipment failures to unstable electricity supply and the hospital’s ageing electrical wiring system.
Is on the back of these challenges that the Overlord of the Waala State, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, speaking through his delegation, appealed to government, development partners, corporate organisations, traditional authorities and philanthropists to support the hospital with modern equipment and infrastructure rehabilitation.
According to the Overload, health authorities are ready to provide quality healthcare, but urgently need equipment and infrastructure to do so safely and effectively,” he appealed.
Management believes replacing obsolete equipment, upgrading the electrical system and rehabilitating the ageing buildings will significantly improve healthcare delivery for thousands of residents who depend on the Wa Municipal Hospital for essential medical services.
By Ibrahim Abubakari Wangara
