The two eye specialist hospitals in the Upper East Region owned by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana increased the number of eye surgeries in 2025 from 791 to 2060 surgeries in their hospitals in Bolgatanga and Garu.
The two Presbyterian eye hospitals were established to handle the serious eye cases in the region as well as reducing travel distances and cost to clients.
Those in the Eastern part of the Upper East Region visit the Garu eye clinic while those from the central and parts of the western zones of the region also visit the eye clinic at Yorogo in the Bolgatanga Municipality for eye services.
The Yorogo Presbyterian eye hospital carried out a total of 754 surgeries and 588 surgeries in 2025 and 2024 respectively with an OPD attendance of 36,592 for 2024 and 2025 combined.
Given the overwhelming number of clients against the limited spaces at the two hospitals, the church has expanded its facilities with new theatre and maternity blocks at the Yorogo eye hospital beyond eye care to include general medical services. The newly commissioned facilities include a double theater block, maternity ward, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The Eye-Coordinator and Administrator at the facility, Peter Abugri, explained that the expansion was necessitated by the need to address general health issues patients presented with during eye consultations.
“While we were carrying out the eye-Services, we realized that some people would come and complain that I also have this stomach pain, I’m running fever, and other things, and we were helpless. Then in the process of examining the eye, you could also identify some general conditions. Just I give the example like diabetes and then hypertension”. He said.
The clinic has partnered with Friends of Boko and Wild Geese, based in the Netherlands, to fund the project as they were financially constraint.
“But our constraint was resources, because we had limited infrastructure to add the general services. We made an appeal to our development partners, that is, Friends of Boko and Wild Geese, based in the Netherlands. So, they decided to come and support us to put up this structure and purchase some gadgets and instruments”. Mr. Peter Abugri added.
The Garu hospital has a total bed capacity of 51 and provides 24-hour services in key clinical areas including General medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics and child health, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The Hospital also run specialized services including Mental health, ENT and Eye clinics, Antiretroviral therapy services, Disease control, and Reproductive and child health services. In addition, the facility operates a pharmacy, a medical sonography unit, and a robust electronic medical records system.
The staff strength currently stands at 175 dedicated professionals, 26 casual staff including three senior medical officers, three CRAs, and 56 nurses of various categories, including nurse specialists and paramedics.
The medical Director of the Garu Presbyterian hospital Dr. Emmanuel Jamal Mohammed has called on the government and all stakeholders to help expand the facilities to accommodate the growing population that visits the hospital on daily basis.
“Given these numbers, we are mostly overwhelmed by the number of clients coming in, against the limited space we have. I want to call on the Hon. Regional minister, the Church and all to come to our aid in expanding this facility to meet its rising needs”, he said.
He added “Despite these challenges, we recorded zero maternal deaths, contributing significantly to the district’s health performance. We have also expanded outreach services to remote communities through our sister facilities in Woriyanga, Sumaduri, and Widana, ensuring that healthcare reaches the most vulnerable”.
According to Dr. Emmanuel Jamal Mohammed, the hospital’s vision is to expand the facility by constructing an ultra-modern pediatric ward and neonatal intensive care unit, establishing an X-ray unit, an orthopaedic centre, and a modern accident and emergency unit.
Meanwhile, the main challenge confronting health services at the Yorogo eye hospital is the low electricity voltage and power fluctuations in the host community and the authorities of the hospital are appealing for a new transformer to avoid any accident.
By Tanko Mohammed Rabiu
