A brand new 100-bed hospital in Trede, Ashanti Region, has been sitting locked and unused for six months — fully built, fully equipped, and even commissioned — while the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi is so overwhelmed it had to stop admitting new patients to its Accident and Emergency Centre.
Abuakwa South MP Dr Kingsley Agyemang, a member of Parliament's Health Committee, made a direct appeal to President John Mahama on Thursday during an inspection tour of abandoned health facilities in the region. “It's so disheartening. This is the completed Trede Agenda 111 hospital facility with staff quarters. Two-bedroom apartments and suites are ready. There are TV screens and every fitting that needs to be fixed is ready, but the hospital isn't opened,” he said.
The facility was commissioned in December 2024 under the Agenda 111 programme — a massive health infrastructure project launched by the previous Akufo-Addo administration to build 111 district hospitals across the country. Trede's hospital was one of the early completions, but it has never seen a single patient.
Dr Agyemang said the only thing missing is staff. “All that the hospital needs is human beings to come and work there. Mr. President, we dey beg you. Just bring the nurses and doctors to come and work here for us,” he pleaded.
He noted that everything inside the hospital is in working condition — flat screens, air conditioners, ceiling fans, lights. “Everything is ready and it was commissioned in December 2024. These flat screens, all the air conditioners and ceiling fans are working. There is light and everything is being left to go waste,” he lamented.
The MP argued that opening the Trede hospital would immediately reduce the burden on KATH, which receives patients from across the country. KATH's Accident and Emergency Centre recently had to suspend new admissions after exceeding capacity. This is a clear sign of the severe congestion at the teaching hospital.
“It's a 100-bed hospital, including Accident and Emergency. Government, we beg you, come and operationalise the facility,” Dr Agyemang stated.
The Minority Caucus on Parliament's Health Committee is currently inspecting completed but non-operational health projects across the country. Their goal is to push the government to activate these idle facilities and ease the strain on existing hospitals.
Dr Agyemang warned that keeping finished hospitals locked up undermines efforts to improve healthcare access. He urged the Mahama administration to prioritise recruiting and deploying doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to Trede. That way, the facility can finally serve the community and surrounding areas.