Tamale Teaching Hospital first phase in limbo

Painstaking investigations by DAILY GUIDE reveal that the first phase of expansion works at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) was not duly completed in accordance with the contract agreement.

The latest revelation contradicts the stance by government and its allied agencies that the project was completed paving way for the commencement of the second phase which has also been stalled.

Expansion works at the hospital, the premier hospital in the Northern Region and the only referral hospital in the three regions of the north was to upgrade it to an 800-bed facility.

It has, however, emerged that only two out of the six flats for doctors which were part of the first phase have been completed, with the rest at various stages of completion.

Checks by DAILY GUIDE revealed that the subcontractors working on these projects, mostly ‘party boys’ who are five years behind schedule, vacated site long time ago with no record of when to return.

As a result, about GHc1.5m is spent annually by the facility in renting private accommodation for doctors and other senior staff.

Barely two years after the project was handed over, there are massive equipment breakdowns, including central air-conditioners, patient monitors, which are critical for saving lives at the accident and emergency unit, intensive care unit as well as the oxygen plant.

The CT scanner, ultrasound machines, oxygen plant and staff furniture worth £500 each have equally not lasted their worth. It was uncovered that hospital beds were equally supplied with instructions on how to use side railings but no railings were installed.

Shockingly according to our investigations, not all listed equipment were supplied like the maternity theatres which did not have theatre lights, tables and anaesthesia machines.

Most of the rooms which were as part of the contract expected to be installed with new equipment turned out to be virtually empty. A whole section of the intensive care unit, DAILY GUIDE can confirm, is not functioning, with a recent flood exposing shoddy work done at the maternity theatre.

Walls had to be broken in order to stop the spillage from the effluent from the upper floors.

It also emerged from the course of investigations that Simed International (BV), contractors of the project who have recently been declared bankrupt, were not the original firm to execute the project.

Documents sighted by DAILY GUIDE revealed that INTERBETON were supposed to construct the facility with Simed International (BV) tasked to supply equipment.

It is unclear why the INTERBETON was dropped for Simed International BV which had little or no previous experience of hospital construction.

Despite their abysmal performance, they awarded the second phase and have since gone bankrupt and packed out of sight, stalling the entire project which was expected to be completed by 2017.

The Dutch companies, the paper can confirm, were declared bankrupt by the court in Midden-Nederland by termination of the suspension of payment on April 23, 2015. Copies of documents sighted by DAILY GUIDE revealed one Mr M.J. Cools was appointed curator with the insolvency number of the case being F.16/15/322.

It would be recalled that ex-President J.A Kufour in 2007 signed an agreement with the Dutch government for the extension, modernisation and rehabilitation of existing structures at the hospital in view of its deplorable state at the time.

The cost of the project then stood at €75 million which the Dutch government was to provide 53 percent while Ghana government took up 22 percent as counterpart funding.