Health Minister presents medical equipment to Tamale Teaching Hospital
The Minister of Health, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has delivered a range of medical equipment and supplies to the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) to support the hospital’s operations, despite an ongoing strike by doctors at the facility.
The equipment was presented on Thursday, 24 April, 2025, as part of what the Ministry says is an effort to improve service delivery at the hospital, which serves as a major referral centre in northern Ghana.
The supplies include ICU ventilators, defibrillators, ultrasound scanners, ECG machines, oxygen concentrators and patient trolleys.
Mr Akandoh said the presentation was aimed at helping the hospital care for patients during this difficult period.
“This support is intended to help the hospital continue to provide services to patients who rely on it,” Mr Akandoh told journalists.
Other items handed over were eight digital sphygmomanometers, ten bowls with stands, three kickabout buckets, five instrument cabinets, five ward screens, one operating lamp and five delivery sets.
The hospital also received one electroencephalogram (EEG) machine, five emergency resuscitation trolleys, five foetal stethoscopes, twenty Ambu bags, five nebuliser sets, five patient trolleys, five wheelchairs and five examination lamps.
Other supplies included five foetal heart detectors, five ECG machines, five bulb suction units, one oxygen concentrator and one hundred pipette tips. Also delivered were four defibrillators, two Vinno ultrasound scanners with accessories, one Lowenstein Prisma ventilator, two transport ventilators, three voltage stabilisers, one Vyaire ICU ventilator and one Drager transport ventilator.
The hospital received three Drager ICU ventilators, six Drager ICU cardiac monitors, one Drager warmer, one Drager resuscitaire, two Drager phototherapy units and two Drager anaesthesia machines. In addition, 20,000 face masks, 500 assorted sutures and two Drager infant incubators were provided.
The delivery of these items comes just two days after the Doctors Association of Tamale Teaching Hospital (DATTH) announced an indefinite strike, citing the dismissal of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer and a confrontation between Mr Akandoh and the head of the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department during the minister’s unannounced visit on Tuesday.
The striking doctors have demanded an apology from Mr Akandoh and the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Mr Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini.
They are also calling for better working conditions, including regular water and power supply, adequate oxygen, and the consistent availability of medical consumables.
Mr Akandoh repeated his call for the doctors to return to the negotiating table. He explained that his visit to the hospital was to enable him to understand conditions on the ground, not to undermine staff.
“I acknowledge the concerns of the doctors, but we must not lose sight of the patients who need care,” he said. “Let us talk and find a way forward.”
The Ministry of Health says it remains open to further dialogue with the doctors while addressing long-standing infrastructure and supply issues at the hospital.
