The Minister of Health, Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has delivered a range of medical equipment and supplies to the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) to support its operations, despite an ongoing strike by doctors at the facility.
The presentation took place on Thursday, April 24, 2025, as part of the Ministry’s effort to enhance service delivery at the hospital, which serves as a major referral center in northern Ghana.
The supplies included ICU ventilators, defibrillators, ultrasound scanners, ECG machines, oxygen concentrators, and patient trolleys. Mr. Akandoh stated that this support aims to help the hospital continue providing care to patients during this challenging period.
“This support is intended to help the hospital continue to provide services to patients who rely on it,” Mr. Akandoh told journalists.
Additional items handed over included eight digital sphygmomanometers, ten bowls with stands, three kickabout buckets, five instrument cabinets, five ward screens, one operating lamp, and five delivery sets.
The hospital also received one electroencephalogram (EEG) machine, five emergency resuscitation trolleys, five foetal stethoscopes, twenty Ambu bags, five nebulizer sets, five patient trolleys, five wheelchairs, and five examination lamps.
Other supplies included five foetal heart detectors, five ECG machines, five bulb suction units, one oxygen concentrator, and one hundred pipette tips. Additionally, four defibrillators, two Vinno ultrasound scanners with accessories, one Lowenstein Prisma ventilator, two transport ventilators, three voltage stabilizers, one Vyaire ICU ventilator, and one Drager transport ventilator were delivered.
The hospital received three Drager ICU ventilators, six Drager ICU cardiac monitors, one Drager warmer, one Drager resuscitaire, two Drager phototherapy units, and two Drager anaesthesia machines. In total, 20,000 face masks, 500 assorted sutures, and two Drager infant incubators were also provided.
This delivery comes just two days after the Doctors Association of Tamale Teaching Hospital (DATTH) announced an indefinite strike, citing the dismissal of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer and a confrontation between Mr. Akandoh and the head of the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department during an unannounced visit on Tuesday.
The striking doctors have demanded an apology from Mr. Akandoh and the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Mr. Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini. They are also calling for better working conditions, including consistent water and power supply, adequate oxygen, and the regular availability of medical consumables.
Mr. Akandoh reiterated his call for the doctors to return to the negotiating table, explaining that his visit aimed to understand the conditions on the ground and not to undermine the staff.
“I acknowledge the concerns of the doctors, but we must not lose sight of the patients who need care,” he said. “Let us talk and find a way forward.”
The Ministry of Health remains open to further dialogue with the doctors while addressing long-standing infrastructure and supply issues at the hospital.
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