The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is urgently calling for the establishment of a catheterization laboratory (Cath Lab) following the tragic death of Dr. Kwame Adu Ofori, an emergency physician at the facility, who succumbed to a heart attack over the weekend.
Dr. Ofori’s colleagues made every effort to save him after he suffered a myocardial infarction, but the hospital lacked the critical infrastructure needed to clear the blockage in the blood vessels supplying his heart.
The absence of a Cath Lab—an essential facility for diagnosing and treating heart conditions through minimally invasive procedures—meant he had to be transported to Accra, Ghana’s only city with such a facility. Sadly, he died en route.
The incident has reignited urgent concerns over the state of medical infrastructure in Ghana’s public health system. KATH, the second-largest teaching hospital in the country and the main referral facility for the Ashanti Region and northern Ghana, has operated for 67 years without a Cath Lab.
Speaking on the devastating loss, KATH CEO, Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, recounted the final efforts made to save Dr. Ofori:
“After stabilizing him, we arranged for a military airlift to Accra and assembled a team of doctors and critical care nurses to receive him. Unfortunately, he passed away on the way.”
Dr. Ofori was a dedicated emergency physician who had committed his career to saving lives—but tragically could not receive the care he himself needed.
Despite repeated appeals for the construction of a Cath Lab at KATH, including a recent request to a visiting delegation from the Bank of Ghana, progress has been stalled. Dr. Baidoo noted that the Bank requested a formal proposal, which has since been submitted.
The issue reflects a wider crisis in public health facilities across Ghana, where access to specialized cardiac care remains dangerously limited.
A Cath Lab allows physicians to perform cardiac catheterization—a procedure in which a thin, flexible tube is guided through a blood vessel in the hand or leg to diagnose and treat heart conditions, avoiding open-heart surgery.
The recent tragedy has heightened concern among staff, who are demanding swift action to avoid further preventable cardiac deaths.
“The hospital’s sterilization facility is also non-functional,” Dr. Baidoo added. “We urgently need a full-scale retooling of the hospital to improve healthcare delivery.”
In response to the incident, KATH management has informed the Minister of Health, who has reportedly assured that construction of Cath Labs will begin not only in Kumasi, but also in Tamale and Accra, to improve access across the country.
