BY Grace Zigah
Mounting pressure on the premier referral facility, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, has triggered fresh concerns over the state of emergency healthcare delivery, as doctors and residents warn that worsening overcrowding is endangering both patients and frontline staff.
In a strongly worded statement issued on March 23, 2026, the Korle Bu Doctors Association (KODA) revealed that the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Centre is currently operating far beyond its capacity.
According to the group, recent administrative directives have significantly increased patient admissions, placing immense strain on already limited infrastructure and personnel.
Despite their commitment to the widely referenced “No Bed” policy—which ensures no patient is turned away—doctors say the unintended consequence has been severe congestion, forcing healthcare workers to improvise under unsafe conditions.
Patients, they noted, are increasingly being treated on floors, chairs, and in hallways, raising serious concerns about patient safety and the quality of care.
KODA warned that such conditions are not only medically risky but also legally precarious.
Treating patients outside standard clinical environments exposes practitioners to potential medico-legal consequences in the event of complications or adverse outcomes.
Additionally, the Association highlighted the growing physical and psychological toll on staff, pointing to burnout, exhaustion, and even long-term health risks such as spinal injuries from constantly bending to attend to patients on the floor.
The group also questioned the accuracy of impressions formed during a recent visit by the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, suggesting that conditions observed during the visit did not reflect the everyday reality within the emergency unit.
According to KODA, temporary measures may have been taken ahead of the visit, masking the true extent of the crisis.
Meanwhile, Emergency Medicine Residents at the hospital have backed these claims, directly contradicting management’s earlier dismissal of viral videos showing patients lying on the floor. The hospital’s CEO, Dr. Yakubu Seidu Adam, had described the footage as unrepresentative.
However, the residents insist the videos are authentic and accurately depict routine conditions during peak congestion.
“The evidence is real,” the residents stated, explaining that once beds and chairs are exhausted, patients are left with no option but to receive care on the floor. They described attempts to label the footage as misleading as “factually inaccurate” and dismissive of the realities faced by both patients and staff.
Both KODA and the residents emphasized that the crisis extends beyond the issue of bed availability.
They argued that simply adding more beds without corresponding increases in staffing, equipment, and space would worsen congestion rather than solve the problem. Essential resources such as oxygen points, monitoring equipment, and adequate personnel, they noted, are equally critical to delivering safe emergency care.
At the heart of the problem, according to the doctors, is a broader systemic failure within Ghana’s healthcare system.
They pointed to weak referral systems, inadequate capacity at lower-level facilities, and the absence of coordinated emergency response mechanisms as key drivers of the situation. Many patients, they explained, are referred to Korle Bu because other hospitals lack the resources to manage them, leading to a constant influx that overwhelms the facility.
The doctors are therefore calling for comprehensive, nationwide reforms, including improved coordination across health facilities, investment in lower-tier hospitals, and the establishment of a functional national emergency care system.
