Given the age of the equipment now in place at the Sewua and Afari Military hospitals, Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah has expressed concern over the ongoing delays in their opening and warned that they could result in expensive maintenance issues.
The minister noted that if the hospitals are not put into operation quickly, the warranties on a large portion of this equipment may expire, which could result in a large increase in the state budget for repairs and replacements.
Both the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital and the 250-bed Sewua Hospital have missed numerous completion dates throughout the years due to persistent delays in becoming operational.
He underlined that the hospitals would relieve strain on current medical facilities, especially the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and provide essential healthcare services to the area.
He stated:
“I talked about two hospital facilities which I consider should be operationalised within the shortest possible time. We need to commission them for them to start receiving patients. These two are the Sewua Regional Hospital and the Afari Military Hospital. The Sewua Regional Hospital has a 250-bed capacity and the Afari Hospital has a 500-bed capacity.
“The reason why I’m saying we should commission them is that both of them are complete. Sewua is complete. What we’re waiting for is the access road, but the contractor is in the advanced stage, which we know he will complete in the next few weeks. Afari Hospital, we were having some challenges with the sewerage system.
