President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to construct a new maternity block for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, describing the existing Gordon-Guggisberg maternity building as a “death trap” that poses a serious risk to mothers, newborns and health workers.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Thursday, July 9, the President disclosed that the government has already begun the procurement process for the construction of the new maternity facility.
“We’re going through the procurement process to build a new maternity block for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. We will pull down the old Gordon-Guggisberg building that has today become a death trap,” President Mahama said.
He stressed that the current state of the maternity block is unacceptable, noting that women continue to deliver babies in a building that no longer meets the standards required for safe maternal healthcare.
“Every other day, our mothers give birth in that building. It is a death trap that can cause devastation,” he stated.
President Mahama said improving healthcare delivery requires more than funding medical diagnosis and treatment, stressing that patients and healthcare professionals also deserve safe and modern infrastructure.
He further announced that the mandate of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund has been expanded beyond financing diagnosis and treatment to include the provision of critical healthcare infrastructure, modern medical equipment and the development of skilled personnel to improve service delivery across the country.
According to the President, the expanded mandate was informed by concerns over the sustainability of previous investments in healthcare equipment, many of which have become unusable due to poor maintenance.
“We found out that most of that equipment was not properly maintained and had broken down, and the hospitals were calling on governments again to do another retooling or replace the equipment. It is not a sustainable model,” he explained.
President Mahama said the government’s new approach is aimed at protecting investments in the health sector by ensuring that healthcare infrastructure, equipment and services are properly maintained to guarantee long-term improvements in healthcare delivery.
The planned maternity block is expected to significantly improve maternal and neonatal healthcare at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana’s premier referral facility, by replacing one of its oldest and most deteriorated buildings with a modern facility designed to provide safer and more efficient care.
