Tepa Government Hospital on the Brink: Severe Staff Shortage and Housing Crisis Threaten Healthcare Delivery
The Tepa Government Municipal Hospital, the main referral facility for Ahafo Ano North and surrounding districts, is operating at breaking point as chronic shortages of nurses and the complete absence of staff accommodation push the facility to the edge of collapse.
Speaking during the Nurses and Midwives Week celebration and the launch of the Ghana Staff Housing Project on November 17, 2025, Municipal Director of Health Services, Dr. Frederick Kwaku Ofori, painted a grim picture:
“Our nurses are grossly overstretched. Some work 16-hour shifts because we simply don’t have enough hands. Many live far away — in Kumasi, Sunyani, or even Goaso — and spend hours commuting daily. When they finally get home, they are too exhausted to return for night duty effectively.”
Dr. Ofori revealed that the hospital, recently upgraded to municipal status and gradually evolving into a full referral centre, currently operates with less than 60% of its required nursing strength. The lack of on-site or nearby accommodation has made it nearly impossible to attract and retain qualified staff, especially specialists willing to relocate from urban centres.
“How do you expect a nurse to give her best when she leaves home at 4 a.m. and returns after 10 p.m.? This is not sustainable,” he stressed.
The situation has led to prolonged patient waiting times, cancelled elective procedures, and mounting pressure on existing staff, some of whom have threatened mass transfers.
Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Kwasi Adusei, who graced the event, acknowledged the gravity of the crisis and gave firm assurances:
“I am taking this matter directly to the Minister of Health and the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service. Tepa Hospital cannot function as a referral centre with skeletal staff and no place for them to lay their heads.”
He announced plans to fast-track the Ghana Staff Housing Project, which aims to construct at least 30 residential units for critical health workers in the first phase, with support from the District Assemblies Common Fund and prospective development partners.
Health workers at the ceremony welcomed the pledge but called for urgent, concrete action — including immediate recruitment of at least 100 additional nurses and midwives and the completion of a long-abandoned 20-unit staff bungalow initiated over a decade ago.
As Tepa’s population grows and the hospital assumes greater responsibility for emergency and specialist care across the Ahafo Ano enclave, administrators warn that without swift government intervention, patient safety and staff welfare will continue to deteriorate.
The Municipal Assembly has scheduled an emergency stakeholder meeting with the Regional Health Directorate next week to push for accelerated support.
For now, the dedicated but exhausted staff of Tepa Government Hospital soldier on — hoping their cry for help does not fall on deaf ears.
