The Minority in Parliament is accusing the Akufo-Addo government of doing little to address the challenges within the health sector.
They say the administration is giving little attention to the sector which needs urgent attention.
Speaking to Citi News ahead of a nationwide tour to inspect abandoned hospital projects today, Monday, Minority Spokesperson on Health, Kwabena Mintah Akando said President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party have failed in the delivery of healthcare in the country.
“I think that the government is not giving the health sector the necessary attention it deserves. You remember this no-bed-syndrome and all that.”
“We know that the former regime started a lot of infrastructure as far as the health sector is concerned. So as members of Parliament, we want to go down there and familiarize ourselves with the progress so far on the field.”
He expressed disappointment at the decline in health delivery in the country and urged the leaders of the country to live up to their promises.
Delivering healthcare to Ghanaians
President Akufo-Addo delivering this year’s State of the Nation Address in Parliament stated that though the country still faces major problems in the health sector, the government will not ignore or sweep the problem under the carpet.
“We are dealing with it,” he said.
New deadlines for abandoned projects
The no-bed-syndrome and the issue of abandoned hospitals have been in the spotlight under the current government.
Citi FM was compelled to petition the President for the completion of all abandoned and uncompleted hospitals.
President Akufo-Addo through the petition in August 2018 gave assurance that a number of projects will be completed according to the schedule below:
| PROJECT | BED CAPACITY | PROGRESS STATUS | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION DATE |
| Kumasi Regional Hospital | 250 beds | 53 | June 2019 |
| Wa Regional Hospital | 160 beds | 89 | October 2018 |
| Tepa District Hospital | 60 beds | 77 | January 2019 |
| Madina District Hospital | 100 beds | 78 | November 2018 |
| Twifo Praso District Hospital | 60 beds | 62 | April 2019 |
| Konongo District Hospital | 60 beds | 52 | June 2019 |
| Salaga District Hospital | 60 beds | 42 | August 2019 |
| Nsawkaw District Hospital | 60 beds | 80 | December 2018 |
However, as of May 2019, five of the projects had already missed their deadlines.
They were the Nsawkaw District Hospital, Twifo Praso District Hospital, Madina District Hospital, Tepa District Hospital, and the Wa Regional Hospital.
The government subsequently announced new deadlines for all the projects without detailed reasons as to why the deadlines for the five projects were missed.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu at the Health Ministry’s Meet-the-Press session earlier this year said the projects will now be completed between July 2019 and June 2020.
In the presentation at the session, he announced the new deadlines as follows;
| PROJECT | BED CAPACITY | OLD COMPLETION DATE | NEW EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE |
| Kumasi Regional Hospital | 250 beds | June 2019 | June 2020 |
| Wa Regional Hospital | 160 beds | October 2018 | July 2019 |
| Tepa District Hospital | 60 beds | January 2019 | December 2019 |
| Madina District Hospital | 100 beds | November 2018 | August 2019 |
| Twifo Praso District Hospital | 60 beds | April 2019 | June 2020 |
| Konongo District Hospital | 60 beds | June 2019 | June 2020 |
| Salaga District Hospital | 60 beds | August 2019 | June 2020 |
| Nsawkaw District Hospital | 60 beds | December 2018 | December 2019 |
The Wa Regional Hospital has been completed and commissioned but is yet to start receiving patients, prompting a query from a Minority MP.