The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Ashanti Region has complained about shortage of beds and personal protective equipment (PPE) at treatment centres of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), making the management of cases difficult.

According to the Ashanti Regional Director of GHS, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, there was an urgent need to increase the number of beds in the treatment facilities considering the increasing number of recorded cases in the region which stood at 2,403.

Addressing the media here on COVID-19 situation in Ashanti, Dr Tenkorang stated that, almost all the treatment centres were full.

He said the treatment centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital had 18 beds, whilst the centre at Kumasi South Hospital had 20 beds.

“This means that the total number of beds we have is 38, so what we need to do is to increase the number of beds to be able to contain the increasing coronavirus cases in the region,” he said.

The Director said plans were afoot to expand Kumasi South Hospital from the existing 20 beds to 41, whilst work was ongoing at another ward for further expansion.

To support the development, he said seven beds have been secured at Suntreso Hospital and “we are also negotiating with one of our senior doctors who has decided to give us his hospital to be used as a treatment centre.”

He said when “it is finally done; we hope that we can add about 100 beds to the treatment centres making it 138 beds.”

Dr Tenkorang said the directorate had the intention of increasing the number of isolation centres in the region considering the increasing number of recorded COVID-19 cases as the region currently had a total of 207 beds in isolation centres at Ejisu and TUC in Kumasi, which were not enough.

The region has so far recorded 38 deaths, 2,403 cases, 778 recoveries, 156 people are currently in isolation and 38 people are also on admission with one in critical condition.

Dr Tenkorang appealed to the public to obey the strict adherence to the COVID-19 safety protocols, as the number of recorded cases was increasing every day in the region.

He hinted that, the continuous failure of the public’s adherence to the safety protocols would force authorities in the region to re-strategise COVID-19 safety protocol adherence.