Consultant neurosurgeon Dr. Teddy Totimeh has painted a sobering picture of Ghana’s healthcare system. According to him, fewer than 10% of public hospitals have the imaging equipment needed for complex surgery, leaving critically ill patients to navigate a system that is often ill-prepared for life-saving care.
A Fragmented System for the Critically Ill
In the private sector, Dr. Totimeh says, financial realities often dictate how hospitals are designed. Many facilities split services, imaging, laboratories, patient care, into separate buildings. While this makes sense for business, it creates a dangerous maze for patients in urgent need of integrated care. He reflects on the few hospitals in Accra that do offer full services, MRI, CT scan, ICU, and operating rooms under one roof, and calls it “a pity, in 2026.”
The Financial Stranglehold in Public Hospitals
The public sector faces its own barriers. With around 80% of hospital budgets going to staff wages, little remains for life-saving infrastructure. According to Dr. Totimeh, this means patients are often passed from one facility to another, their lives hinging on luck and the goodwill of overworked doctors and nurses.
The Human Cost of Systemic Failure
Behind the statistics are real people, families rushing loved ones between hospitals, medics working beyond exhaustion, and patients whose survival depends not on the system, but on the courage of individuals. Dr. Totimeh emphasizes, “All proper medical care happens, because medical staff take responsibility.”
He recalls the broader societal context: the so-called “no-bed syndrome” is not just about beds, but about accountability. It is, as he calls it, a “no responsibility syndrome”, a chain of systemic inefficiencies that stretches from burnt-out emergency medics to policymakers.
The reality remains stark; patients who need complex surgery often face delays that can determine life or death. With less than 10% of public hospitals equipped for advanced procedures and 80% of budgets tied up in salaries, the system is chronically underprepared for critically ill patients. Dr. Totimeh’s assessment underscores a harsh truth, without significant investment in integrated infrastructure and multidisciplinary care, Ghana’s healthcare system will continue to struggle under its own structural constraints.
The High Street Journal will explore this issue further in the coming days.
