The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee and Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Patrick Boakye-Yiadom, was seen wielding a cutlass and clearing a portion of outgrown grass at the premises of the Afari Military Hospital.
He did this unusual activity during a parliamentary committee visit to the facility on Wednesday, June 10.
The visit formed part of the Health Committee’s assessment of healthcare infrastructure in the region amid increasing pressure on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), particularly its Accident and Emergency Unit.
This highlighted the growing concerns over the state of the yet-to-be-operationalised hospital, which has reportedly become overgrown with weeds despite being earmarked to play a critical role in healthcare delivery in the Ashanti Region and beyond.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Boakye-Yiadom expressed disappointment over the state of the hospital, describing it as a sad reflection of the country’s healthcare priorities.
He noted that the weeding exercise was a symbolic action designed to draw attention to the hospital’s situation, which he believes requires urgent intervention.
“I am very sad and disappointed today to see this beautiful edifice overtaken by weeds and, of course, snakes…That is why you saw me weeding. This shouldn’t continue. This spectacle must stop,” he said.
He urged government to ensure the immediate activation of Afari Military Hospital and other completed health facilities to improve healthcare access and reduce pressure on KATH for the benefit of residents across the Ashanti Region and surrounding catchment areas.
According to the Obuasi East MP, the condition of the Afari Military Hospital underscores broader challenges within Ghana’s healthcare system, particularly the increasing pressure on KATH.
He described the situation at KATH as “the tip of the iceberg,” noting that the facility’s Accident and Emergency Unit has become severely overcrowded.
“KATH has been overloaded. The Accident and Emergency Unit is full of patients. When you visit the place, the number of patients lying on the floor exceeds the number lying on beds. This situation cannot continue,” he stated.
Mr. Boakye-Yiadom said the Afari Military Hospital was intended to ease pressure on Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and serve residents in northern Ashanti and nearby regions, warning that keeping it unused undermines its purpose and burdens existing health facilities.
The MP also bemoaned the non-operational status of the completed Agenda 111 hospitals at Kokoben in the Oforikrom Constituency and Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma District, describing them as modern 100-bed facilities equipped with emergency units and other essential departments.
“These are fantastic hospitals. What remains is the employment of nurses, doctors and other health workers to make them functional. That is what we are asking for,” he said.
Mr. Boakye-Yiadom questioned why the facilities remain non-operational despite being completed and commissioned, arguing that the people of the Ashanti Region deserve access to the healthcare services the hospitals were built to provide.
“I’m sure if the people of the Ashanti Region see the state of Afari Hospital now, people will weep because we shouldn’t let this investment go to waste,” he remarked.
The legislator called on President John Dramani Mahama and the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, to take immediate steps to operationalise the hospitals before they deteriorate further.
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