Korle Bu starts groundwork for 400-bed Mother and Child Block to replace maternity unit

Pinned summary · as of 16:15

Groundwork has started at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra for a new Mother and Child Block with 400 beds. Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu announced the project, which is meant to take the place of the hospital's current maternity unit.

What we know

• Felix Kwakye Ofosu said site preparation has begun for a 400-bed Mother and Child Block at Korle Bu, to be built and equipped by the government of President John Dramani Mahama.
• The new block is intended to take over from the hospital's present maternity unit and widen Korle Bu's capacity for maternal, newborn and reproductive care.
• On the clinical side, the plan covers specialist women's wards, delivery suites and theatres, plus three levels of critical care: an ICU, a High Dependency Unit and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
• Fertility care is part of the brief too, with an IVF unit built around assisted reproductive technology and clinics for reproductive health, alongside antenatal and postnatal clinics, family planning and breastfeeding units, and emergency obstetric care.
• Support services named in the plan include imaging, laboratories, a blood bank, pharmacy, sterile supplies, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and rooms for teaching, research and conferences.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online reported that the announcement came through a Facebook post published on Monday, 21 September, and that the minister described the block as part of the president's renewed spending on major health infrastructure; other reports have not confirmed the platform or the date.
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  Ghana Business News reported that President Mahama first promised a replacement maternity block on 9 July, when the CathLab at Korle Bu was commissioned, and that the hospital says a site has been given to the contractor with clearing under way; no other report has confirmed either point.
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  Rainbow Radio Online and The Vaultz News describe the existing maternity unit as dilapidated; the announcement itself does not give the unit's condition, and the hospital has not been quoted on it.

Why it matters for Ghana

Korle Bu is one of the country's biggest referral hospitals, so mothers and newborns sent from clinics in Accra and other regions would be the main beneficiaries of more beds and intensive care space. The inclusion of fertility services and training facilities would also matter to couples seeking treatment and to students learning obstetric care. For now, the confirmed step is only that ground preparation has begun, and no completion date or cost has been given.