Congestion At KATH) Psychiatry Unit …11 Beds For 100 Patients

There is congestion in the Psychiatry Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in Kumasi, and this is impeding smooth healthcare delivery.

The unit, established about four decades ago, has not experienced any expansion works over the years, thereby resulting in congestion and other challenges.

Records indicate that over 100 patients visit the unit for healthcare on a daily basis, but few of them could be admitted as the unit has only eleven beds.

The KATH Psychiatry Unit is the main psychiatry unit in the middle belt of the country so a lot of people from Ashanti region and beyond access healthcare there, daily.

Dr. Ruth Owusu-Antwi, Head of the KATH Psychiatry Unit, bemoaned the lack of space at her unit, saying that doctors now do consultation in small corridors.

She said the psychiatry unit, especially, medical personnel stationed there, could not perform in comfort so she called for public support to help expand facilities there.

Speaking to journalists, after touring the facility, Dr. Ruth Owusu-Antwi said building experts quoted an amount of GHC1.5 million as money needed to expand the facility two years ago.

According to her, drawings for the expansion works have been done already, stressing the need for the affluent in society to come to their aid to help expand the unit.

Dr. Ruth Owusu-Antwi stated that the expansion works would lead to the now 11-bed facility being expanded to 32 beds, with 12 beds for females and 20 beds for males.

She stated that the expansion works would also lead to a psychiatry pharmacy; bigger OPD; VIP ward and a bigger consulting room, among other modern facilities.