The President of the Gbi Traditional Council, Togbega Gabusu VII, has called for immediate intervention to address what he describes as severe infrastructure and operational challenges at the Volta Regional Hospital in Hohoe.
Following an unannounced visit to the facility with other traditional leaders, Togbega Gabusu said conditions at the hospital fall far below what is expected of a regional referral centre.
“We decided to obtain first-hand information about the concerns raised, and what we saw confirms the seriousness of the situation,” he told the media after the tour, stressing that the current state of the hospital was unsuitable for effective healthcare delivery.
He urged key authorities—including the Member of Parliament, the Municipal Chief Executive, the Regional Minister, and the Minister of Health—to respond swiftly to the concerns raised by traditional leaders and residents.
According to him, the traditional council is prepared to make land available for the construction of a new regional hospital complex to improve standards and attract medical specialists. He noted that inadequate infrastructure has made it difficult to retain or attract specialists to the area.
Despite the challenges, Togbega Gabusu acknowledged the hospital’s strategic importance, citing its location along the Eastern Corridor Road and its role in serving patients from the Volta, Oti, and Northern regions.
The Hospital Administrator, Mr Divine Aki, confirmed that the facility is facing significant infrastructure, equipment, and human resource constraints. He explained that the hospital, originally commissioned in 1952 as a municipal hospital, was later upgraded to regional status to function as a referral centre but without corresponding expansion in facilities.
Mr Aki revealed that the hospital lacks a dedicated surgical ward, resulting in surgical and medical patients being treated in the same space. It also operates without an intensive care unit and has only a four-bed theatre capacity, which he described as inadequate given the volume of daily cases and emergency referrals, including obstetrics and gynaecology cases.
He further highlighted the absence of accommodation for specialists, forcing the hospital to rent housing for doctors to enable them to work in Hohoe.
Mr Aki appealed to stakeholders, individuals, and organisations to support efforts to modernise the facility and address the pressing challenges to improve healthcare delivery in the region.
