By Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
Concerns have emerged over the readiness of major public hospitals ahead of the April 2026 rollout of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as Mahama Cares, following revelations of severe diagnostic equipment shortages at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
The Administrator of the Fund, Obuobia Opoku-Darko, expressed shock at the situation during an inspection tour of the facility, noting that despite serving nearly a thousand patients daily, the hospital lacks essential diagnostic machines.
“I am surprised that almost a thousand people walk into this facility every day, yet it does not have a CT scan, MRI, fluoroscopy unit, mammogram machine or even an X-ray,” she said. “I am deeply saddened by this situation, and for us as a medical trust fund, it is a major concern.”
The Mahama Cares programme is designed to provide financial support for the treatment of critical and chronic illnesses, with major public hospitals expected to play a central role in service delivery.
According to Ms Opoku-Darko, the absence of diagnostic equipment forces patients to seek medical tests at private facilities before returning to the hospital for further treatment, increasing both cost and inconvenience.
“Anyone who walks in here and cannot get the required tests done is referred to a private facility outside to conduct the tests and then return for follow-up care,” she explained.
The visit forms part of a nationwide assessment of selected health facilities to identify equipment gaps and infrastructure needs ahead of the programme’s implementation.
Ms Opoku-Darko also appealed to Corporate Ghana to support public hospitals through corporate social responsibility initiatives, stressing the urgency of strengthening healthcare delivery.
“Healthcare must be looked at holistically and treated with urgency. Our hospitals urgently need support,” she said.
The Acting Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Leslie Adam-Zakariah, assured that systems are being put in place to properly safeguard any new equipment the hospital may receive.
Authorities say findings from the ongoing assessments will inform resource allocation under the Mahama Cares programme, which aims to strengthen public hospitals and improve access to quality healthcare nationwide.
