Filed by: Issah Abdul-Latif
On Thursday, July 23, 2026, a delegation from the Wa Naa’s Palace paid a working visit to the Wa Municipal Hospital. Their mission was to obtain, at first-hand, the challenges affecting the operations and delivery of healthcare services at the facility.
During the visit, management of the century-old hospital highlighted several pressing concerns, including high cost of maintaining essential medical equipment, overuse of some machines, financial difficulties and huge debts owed to suppliers.
Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr. Bukari Zakari disclosed that the facility is currently grappling with lack of essential medical equipment and the few avaliable ones also worn out. He said the dependence on the few equipment has put undue pressure on these facilities, leading to their regular breakdowns and need for repairs.
Some of the equipment undergoing regular maintenance include emergency and life-support machines such as ventilators, defibrillators, oxygen concentrators, suction machines and emergency trolleys. Others are ECG machines, operating theatre equipment, X-ray and ultrasound machines, laboratory analysers, ICU equipment, and maternity & newborn care machines.
He indicated that the maintenance and repair of critical medical equipment which has become obsolete continue to place a heavy financial burden on the facility.
The woes of the hospital are further compounded by an outstanding debt of about five million Ghana cedis. This debt overhung, reportedly accrued while the facility was serving as a regional hospital, has made things difficult for the now municipal hospital.
According to the Medical Director, some suppliers have taken the hospital to court over the debt while others are refusing to provide them with essential medical consumables, thus, impeding effective operations.
With the current status as a municipal hospital, the level of funding it receives is low compared to the period when it operated as a regional hospital, Dr. Zakari explained. Coupled with the relatively limited internal revenue, it has become extremely difficult for them to effectively maintain the equipment.
According to the hospital, based on its current financial situation and available resources, it could take approximately 10 years to clear its outstanding debts. It further suggested that replacing the worn out machinery or adding essential ones has become a major hurdle.
Management therefore appeals to stakeholders to come to their aid by helping them to clear the debt, acquire equipment to replace the obsolete ones, and enhance healthcare delivery.
The delegation from the Wa Naa’s Palace sympathised with the hospital, expressing concerns over how the once buoyant hospital has been left to suffer.
For them, the current situation at the facility is a result of years of neglect from leadership and, therefore, called on the Health Minister and the Upper West Regional Minister to attend to the challenges confronting the hospital.
