Ghana’s largest teaching hospital, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is facing mounting pressure in its Accident and Emergency Department as a sharp rise in emergency cases exposes deep cracks in the country’s health system.
According to the Head of the Accident and Emergency Unit at Korle-Bu, Dr. Henry Bulley, the hospital is struggling to manage the growing number of patients being sent in from across the country.
He noted that Ghana’s health infrastructure has not kept pace with population expansion, leaving major referral centres to absorb far more cases than they were designed to handle.
Dr. Bulley explained that the increased demand for emergency care has placed heavy strain on existing resources, facilities, medical equipment, and frontline health workers, who are all feeling the impact, which in turn affects the ability of the hospital to deliver timely treatment.
He linked part of the problem to the role Korle Bu now plays as a national referral hub. Because of its specialized expertise and comparatively lower cost of care, patients from different parts of Ghana are routinely transferred to the hospital.
Rising Population and Underinvestment in Health Infrastructure
He pointed out that while Ghana’s population has grown to over 30 million, there has not been a corresponding growth in the number of hospitals with the capacity to manage complex emergencies. “With what Korle-Bu is, it has become a referral centre for the country because of the specialized care and the cost is relatively affordable,” he stated.
He added that many of the patients arriving at the facility are those who were referred from other hospitals but could not pay for treatment there, or whose conditions required care that smaller facilities could not provide.
The situation, he explained, has led to critical patients remaining in the Emergency Department for extended periods while they wait for beds in specialist wards. This backlog is contributing to congestion and delays.
Dr. Bulley also mentioned that some patients who should have been moved to other hospitals are still being kept in the Emergency Department because there is nowhere else for them to go, worsening the pressure on staff and space.
To address the challenge, he called for urgent investment in healthcare infrastructure and for more doctors and nurses to be trained and deployed to meet the needs of Ghana’s growing population. Without that, he warned, the burden on tertiary hospitals like Korle Bu will only continue to grow.
Human Cost on Health Workers
Dr. Bulley also highlighted the human cost on health workers. He noted that many nurses are forced to stay on duty even when they are supposed to be off, because there are not enough hands to cover shifts. This, he said, has led to burnout and fatigue among staff who are already working under difficult conditions.
The head of the emergency unit further observed that some patients arrive at Korle Bu with conditions that could have been managed at lower-level facilities if those facilities had the right equipment and personnel.
However, due to gaps at the district and regional hospital levels, those patients end up being sent to Accra, adding to the numbers at the national referral centre.
He stressed that decongesting Korle-Bu would require a two-pronged approach that is strengthening emergency and specialist services in other regions, and improving the referral system so that patients are only sent to Korle-Bu when necessary.
He also suggested that making healthcare more affordable at other hospitals could reduce the number of people who bypass closer facilities to come to Korle Bu for cheaper care.
Inadequate Staff at the Korle Bu Causing Major Challenge
Despite the challenges, Dr. Bulley acknowledged the dedication of the staff at the Accident and Emergency Department. He said they continue to work around the clock to attend to patients, often under pressure and with limited resources.
However, he cautioned that dedication alone cannot solve structural problems. Dr. Bulley’s comments add to the ongoing discussions about health financing, infrastructure, and human resource gaps in Ghana.
He called for increased government investment, better distribution of medical equipment, and policies that encourage health professionals to work outside major cities.
For now, patients and families continue to troop to Korle Bu seeking care, often traveling long distances in critical condition. Until more hospitals are equipped to handle emergencies locally, the hospital will remain the first and last option for many Ghanaians in need of urgent medical attention.
He concluded his remarks, saying that the situation at Korle-Bu reflects a broader challenge facing Ghana’s health system on how to balance access, quality, and capacity in the face of rapid population growth, and that the country must act now to expand infrastructure and train more personnel, or risk seeing its major hospitals buckle under the weight of demand.
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