The Medical Director of the Wa Municipal Hospital, Dr. Bukari Zakaria, has painted a grim picture of the state of the facility, revealing severe infrastructure challenges, aging medical equipment, overwhelming debt and deteriorating working conditions that continue to affect healthcare delivery.
Speaking during a visit by traditional leaders from the Waala Traditional State, Dr. Zakaria appealed for support from the traditional authorities, warning that the over 100 years hospital could struggle to provide essential services without urgent intervention.
According to him, the hospital’s staff continue to work under some of the poorest conditions in the Upper West Region, with leaking roofs, damaged floors and worn-out furniture making the working environment difficult.
“The working conditions of our staff are among the poorest in the region. When it rains, there are leakages all over the facility. The floors are in poor condition and the chairs our staff use are also not the best,” he said.
Dr. Zakaria also disclosed that the hospital inherited an overwhelming legacy debt, making it difficult for management to operate effectively while simultaneously servicing old financial obligations.
He explained that the hospital owes approximately GH¢5 million to the Regional Medical Stores alone, comprising about GH¢4 million for drugs and GH¢500,000 for non-drug consumables, in addition to debts owed to numerous external suppliers.
The Medical Director noted that several suppliers have taken legal action against the hospital over unpaid debts, while others have agreed to payment plans after appreciating the facility’s financial challenges.
He estimated that, based on the hospital’s current internally generated funds, it could take more than 10 years to clear the accumulated debt.
Beyond the financial difficulties, Dr. Zakaria highlighted critical shortages of life-saving medical equipment.
He disclosed that the hospital’s anaesthetic machine had broken down, making it impossible at one point to administer general anaesthesia for surgical procedures.
This, he said, placed emergency patients at significant risk because transferring critically ill patients to the Upper West Regional Hospital could result in preventable deaths.
“Any of us standing here can become a victim. Before referring a patient, we should be able to stabilize them, but when essential equipment breaks down, that becomes impossible,” he stated.
Dr. Zakaria further described the situation in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as alarming.
He said the facility receives referrals of premature babies and newborns with infections and jaundice from across the Upper West Region and neighbouring Savannah Region, including Bole and Tuna.
However, the hospital currently has no functional incubator, phototherapy machine or radiant warmer to care for such babies.
“Every day we receive these cases, yet we do not have a single incubator or phototherapy machine. All the equipment has broken down,” he lamented.
The Medical Director emphasized that the Wa Municipal Hospital serves as a major referral facility within the Waala Traditional Area and beyond, making it imperative for stakeholders to support efforts to improve infrastructure, replace obsolete equipment and strengthen healthcare delivery.
He appealed to the chiefs and people of the Waala Traditional State to partner with hospital management in addressing the challenges to ensure quality healthcare services for residents of the municipality and neighbouring districts.
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