Otumfuo to raise $10 million to renovate KATH leaking blocks

The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has bemoaned the bad structural state of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) which serves as the referral center for 12 out of the 16 regions of Ghana.

KATH block A-D built 70 years ago has never seen any renovations, a development Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II described as unfortunate when he sneaked into the facility in the night to visit his sick father’s Priest.

Otumfuo who is uncomfortable with the state of the Teaching Hospital will in the coming day launch a fund-raising exercise to raise at least 10 million dollars to renovate the entire hospital.

The project titled Komfo Anokye Legacy project is part of the activities marking the 25years Anniversary of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on the Asante Gold stool which will start in 2024.

Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is located in Kumasi, the Regional Capital which provides health care for a projected population of over 4,780,380.

The geographical location of the 1200-bed Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the road network of the country, and the commercial nature of Kumasi make the hospital accessible to all the areas that share boundaries with the Ashanti Region and others that are further away.

As such, referrals are received from all the regions up north of the country including Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions, Bono, Ahafo, Central, Western, Eastern, and parts of the Volta Regions.

Constructed in 1954/55 and named the Kumasi Central Hospital, it was later changed to the Komfo Anokye Hospital (KATH) in honour and memory of the late Asante powerful and legendary fetish priest, Komfo Anokye.

The 70-year-old lifesaving facility has been left to its fate without any deliberate commitment by the present and successive governments to give the facility a new look.

In view of this, the Current CEO of the Hospital Prof. Otchere Addai Mensah ran to Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to assist him in renovating the facility which is in a sorry state.

Although the health facility looks very beautiful from the outside, unfortunately, it is very dirty when you enter the admission wards. Same could be said about the sanitary facilities.

The facility is full of deep wall cracks exposing corroded iron rods holding the structures associated with leakages every moment it rains while electrical cables are equally hanging loose.

Engineer Kwadwo Darko Asante, Ashanti Regional Head of Public Work Department (PWD) told GHone news, that after two assessments of KATH facilities, it was established that there are no fire detectors, or fire hydrants for emergency use.

It was also established that most of the electrical wires in the facility are dysfunctional which calls for immediate rewiring of the facilities.

“The hospital we are talking about is over 70 years and no major renovations have been carried out there at the moment. The majority of the electrical wires there are dysfunctional, so we noticed we have to replace almost all the electrical cables. From the two weeks assessment on the structures we did, we recorded a lot of cracks and leakages from the roof to the down including the basement which we must prefer solution to the problems," he disclosed.

He said “We need to do a lot of fall ceiling and run our plumbing and electrical wiring above the ceiling within the ward area so you will not see the electrical wiring and the plumbing pipes and all those unsightly cables within the ward areas.

He further explained "What we have done is to create an environment that will aid easy recovery of patients within the hospital environment. You will expect that when people are brought within the environment, they don’t have cause to be anxious; so with the solutions that we are preferring, we are saying we will reduce that level of anxiety within the hospital environment so that it will aid recovery."

“So, we have taken a lot of interventions so that when your relative is in the hospital you don’t have to worry that much. Sometimes when your relatives are in the hospital by the time he or she is discharged, you end up being sick as well because of the stress and anxiety you have to endure in the facility of the hospital environment. This proposal that we have made is aimed at solving issues raised out of the current state of KATH that leads to stress for patients and their relatives and mostly to improve recovery times in the hospital.

If you go to Komfo Anokye and you are in the wards and you look at the ceiling, it is very unsightly. When you are in a hospital environment and you are sick, the environment should be comforting. It should be reassuring that you will get well but what we have is the opposite at Komfo Anokye and we want to turn it around that when you are within the hospital environment at the lower point as a patient, we have an environment that is taking care of you as a patient with the support of medics in the hospital.

That’s what we aim to do at Komfo Anokye. So, we call this project Heal Komfo Anokye to heal you. Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is supposed to heal us but the hospital is sick, so we have to heal it first," he pleaded.

Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II who is uncomfortable with the current state of the referral facility has pledged his commitment to renovate the facility which was named after Asante’s proud fetish Priest Komfo Anokye.

Otumfuo's intervention came through a formal request by the hospital management led by Prof. Ochere Addai Mensah and the board.

Speaking at a presentation meeting in Manhyia Palace after Otumfuo had received a formal briefing from the Committee responsible for renovation of the facilities, Otumfuo commended KATH CEO for leading Change in the Teaching Hospital.

“My Son Addai Mensah after his appointment called on me through the Board Chairman, Bompata Manhene. He informed me of the problems in the hospital and pleaded for my support. I know his father served me well and his son is also replicating the same. He started at KNUST when he was teaching there. So I told him to conduct investigations about the situation and the cost involved to help us. The pictorial report that I’m watching now makes me feel very sad and it’s very embarrassing, but I know for sure you will make an impact at KATH in the interest of Asanteman’’ he said.

He further disclosed “About 10 days ago, I sneaked into the Hospital and paid a visit to my father’s church Senior Priest who was on admission to the hospital.

I didn’t even tell the CEO of my coming in the night. After the visit to the emergency unit, I saw people sleeping all over at the unit, so I decided to go round to see things for myself. They wanted to prevent me from going there but I insisted I would want to go there so I was allowed into the ward.

Immediately, I noticed the huge responsibility of my son, the CEO. Just look at what is in the 70-year-old structure captured in this proposal. KATH serves 12 out of the 16 regions we can’t allow it to deteriorate. The facility looks nice from the outside but if you enter the wards that’s where you see the thorough state of the facility," he explained.

Otumfuo directed the committee responsible for the renovation to start the fundraising project as soon as possible.

“Accra is blessed with Ridge, Korle-Bu, 37, Police Hospital among other hospitals unlike Ashanti that only depends on Komfo Anokye. Population in Accra as compared to Ashanti the difference is slight. So, we must take a very interest in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and get things done right over there.

If Addai Mensah had not brought this out, we wouldn’t have known the true state of the facility. Now we must commit to a day for conversation in the hospital. We invite the Ashanti business community, individuals, and all traditional leaders to have a tour of the facility including the media so everyone will be informed about the state of the hospital and the proposed design for everybody to help," he bemoaned.

Otumfuo pledged to make sure all mining companies in the Ashanti region, individual business owners in the Ashanti Kingdom formally be written to support the project.

“I must make sure you have written to all mining firms in the Ashanti Kingdom to play a role in this project. They must walk through the wards to see things for themselves. The facility is named after Komfo Anokye so it’s our responsibility to put the place in better shape. It will be disgraceful to use if we fail to support. Any amount of donation will be accepted to bring the project to life.

Whoever donated to the project demonstrated his love for the Golden Stool and me. Nana Effah Apenteng the board Chairman I know you are doing your work there as the Board Chairman; you must equally make sure we achieve our goal for the project. Give me a date that I will come to Komfo Anokye myself to receive all the invited guests in the facility for us to make a decision there. That should be in the form of a durbar so start writing to them," he instructed.

Otumfuo bemoaned the lack of government commitment towards the completion of Sewua Government Hospital, Formena, Kumawu among other health projects which are all almost completed.

“Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is our last hope in Ashanti because the work has stalled at Sewua, Fomena, Kumawu, and Afari Military Hospital. All haven’t been completed. If they were in full operation, the pressure on KATH could have been reduced. The projects we are counting on haven’t been done and KATH is also collapsing so we must save Komfo Anokye to save us,” Otumfuo pleaded.

The hospital’s management led by Prof. Addai Mensah commended Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for his assuring commitment to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital transformational project.