The Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), Obuobia Darko-Opoku, has made an urgent appeal to Corporate Ghana and the general public to support the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, popularly known as Ridge Hospital, with essential medical equipment to help save lives.
Ridge Hospital, one of Ghana’s major referral centres, attends to nearly 1,000 patients daily.
However, despite the high patient load, the facility currently lacks key diagnostic equipment including CT scanners, MRI machines, mammography units, and fluoroscopy equipment—tools considered vital for accurate and timely diagnosis of life-threatening conditions.
“These are not luxuries,” Ms Darko-Opoku emphasised. “They are fundamental tools required for diagnosing and managing non-communicable diseases, trauma cases, obstetric emergencies, and other complex medical conditions.”
Her appeal follows a needs-assessment tour of the hospital conducted ahead of the official rollout of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund in April.
The assessment revealed that while Ridge Hospital carries a significant national healthcare burden, its capacity is being severely constrained by outdated or missing diagnostic equipment.
Warning of the consequences of delay, the GMTF Administrator noted that “the cost of inaction will be catastrophic,” stressing that the gap between diagnosis and treatment could prove fatal for many patients.
Marking the month of love, Ms Darko-Opoku called on corporate organisations to allocate part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budgets toward retooling the hospital, while urging individual citizens not to turn a blind eye.
“This is critical,” she said. “Let us all come together to support Ridge Hospital. You never know when you, a loved one, a colleague or a friend may need its services. This is too serious to ignore.”
The Medical Director of Ridge Hospital, Dr Leslie Adam-Zakaria, speaking on behalf of hospital management, expressed appreciation to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund for championing efforts to improve the facility’s capacity and bring it closer to the standards it aims to achieve.
According to the GMTF, retooling Ridge Hospital is not an upgrade but a necessity, essential to reducing delays between diagnosis and treatment and ensuring patients receive timely and effective care.
The Ghana Medical Trust Fund, an initiative of President John Dramani Mahama, was established to provide financial support to Ghanaians suffering from serious and costly chronic illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure, and heart disease—conditions not fully covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Beyond patient support, the Fund also aims to strengthen health infrastructure, bridge gaps in specialised care, and prevent families from being driven into poverty due to the high cost of medical treatment.
The appeal, GMTF officials say, is a call to action.
Lives are at stake, and Ridge Hospital must be ready
