The Board Chairman of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Titus Beyuo, has disclosed that the facility’s functional bed capacity currently stands at about 1,500.
He noted that the figure has declined largely due to broken and unreplaced beds.
Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV, Wednesday, March 25, Prof. Beyuo stressed the urgent need to expand bed capacity at the hospital.
“As of today, the functional bed capacity in Korle Bu is about 1,500. It has come down. Some beds have broken down and have not been replaced,” he said.
He cited benchmarks by the World Health Organisation, which recommend between two to five hospital beds per 1,000 people. In contrast, Ghana currently has about 0.9 beds per 1,000 population.
He raised objections against assertions by some Emergency Medicine Residents that adding more beds would not resolve congestion.
“It’s a very unfortunate statement. We need more beds. No one can argue that we don’t need beds,” he said.
Prof. Beyuo noted that Korle Bu’s declining capacity reflects a broader national challenge, as damaged beds have not been replaced, further straining the country’s premier referral facility.
His remarks follow public uproar over a viral video that appeared to show patients lying on the floor at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Centre, raising concerns about congestion and inadequate infrastructure.
Management of the hospital had earlier said it could not verify the authenticity of the footage, maintaining that patients seen in the video were seated on chairs while awaiting admission, rather than being treated on the floor.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Yakubu Seidu Adam, also rejected claims that patients were receiving care on the floor, insisting that the video does not accurately depict conditions in the emergency wards.
Despite the challenges, Prof. Beyuo expressed confidence in the Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, assuring that the government has both the expertise and political will to address the situation.
“I want to reassure the doctors that the Minister of Health has sufficient knowledge of the system. He has the commitment and the political will to solve the problem,” he added.
