The suspension of elective surgeries at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital due to elevator breakdowns has raised public concerns and criticism regarding the government's lack of attention to the health sector.

The recent breakdown of elevators and maintenance issues is not the first time such incidents have been reported at Korle-Bu in 2024.

In light of this, GhanaWeb provides a breakdown of the number of times the hospital's elevators have malfunctioned, leading to the suspension of major services due to maintenance issues.

Faulty lift at Maternity Block

In January 2024, a faulty elevator at the maternity block of Korle-Bu reportedly led to the death of a pregnant woman who was being transferred to the theatre for treatment of excessive bleeding, according to a source.

"Ideally, the woman would have been transferred to the theatre on a stretcher, but because the lifts are not working, she was carried in a wheelchair, which led to the unfortunate incident," the source disclosed.

An article published on GhanaWeb stated that due to the malfunctioning elevator, women in labour and nursing mothers had to climb the six-story maternity block staircase for daily care, disrupting activities.

Following public criticism, the lift was repaired within 24 hours. However, the hospital management denied that a pregnant woman died as a result of the malfunctioning maternity block lift.

Elevator breaks down at Maternity Block and Surgical Department

Another case of a broken elevator was reported in July 2024 at Korle-Bu, causing inconvenience to patients and visitors.

Both the maternity ward and the surgical department each have two elevators, but one in each area is not functioning. The non-functioning lifts reportedly broke down 6 months ago, and the remaining operational ones are not functioning effectively.

Surgical Block elevator breaks down

Management announced on August 26, 2024, the suspension of elective surgeries due to the breakdown of an elevator at the surgical block of Korle-Bu.

Emergency cases have been temporarily relocated to the ground floor surgical, accident center, pediatric, and gynecology theaters, according to a statement by the hospital.

The CEO of the hospital, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, stated that repair works are expected to take a week, after which full surgeries will resume.

"We have made some procurements for new elevators, but it will take around six months before they arrive. That's why we needed to work on the old ones. Because of that, healthcare delivery must not be affected, which is why we have diverted the non-emergency cases. We are still handling emergency surgeries at other theatres. We should be done within the week for full surgeries to commence," he said.

Ghanaians have called for the health ministry and stakeholders to promptly address the maintenance issues to ensure it doesn't recur.

MAG/OGB