Time to Realign the Northern Region’s Healthcare System

Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) is the Northern Region’s most advanced healthcare facility. It is supposed to be the last stop --- a center for specialist care and complex procedures. Yet, every day, patients with simple ailments bypass nearby hospitals and crowd its halls. The result? A facility stretched to its limits, struggling to meet its core mandate.

TTH is a tertiary-level referral hospital. It was never meant to treat uncomplicated malaria or mild infections. Those cases should be handled at district hospitals, health centers, or even CHPS compounds. But due to a weak referral system and lack of public awareness, patients often rush straight to TTH- even when other options are available.

This overload has real consequences. Essential equipment breaks down from constant use. Medical specialists are tied up with minor cases. Staff are overwhelmed. And patients with life-threatening conditions wait longer than they should.

Recent reports have highlighted these issues. From malfunctioning MRI and oxygen machines to staff shortages and long queues, it’s clear that TTH is under serious pressure. As one-time Health Minister, Bernard Okoe-Boye noted during a visit to the facility, urgent reforms are needed to restore its functionality.

Tamale is not short of hospitals. West Hospital, Tamale Central Hospital, and district hospitals across the region are well-positioned to manage primary and secondary cases. If these facilities are equipped, supported, and trusted, they can handle the bulk of everyday health needs. That would allow TTH to focus on what it was built for: advanced care, specialist services, and training the next generation of healthcare professionals.

This isn’t just about infrastructure --- it’s about systems and mindset. Ghana’s healthcare structure is clear: primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care. But without strict enforcement of referral protocols, the system collapses. Patients need to know where to go, and lower-level facilities must be capable of handling their share.

Here’s what needs to happen:
1. Enforce referral protocols: Patients should not walk into TTH without being referred --- unless it's an emergency.

2. Upgrade district hospitals: Give them the tools, personnel, and confidence to manage routine cases.

3. Educate the public: People must understand why using the right facility matters—for their health and for the system.

4. Monitor compliance: Regional health administrators must ensure hospitals follow the system --- and support those who do.

Tamale Teaching Hospital is a critical pillar in Ghana’s health architecture. But it cannot stand alone. If we want quality care for all, we must stop overloading it with primary cases. Let TTH breathe. Let it do what it was meant to do --- save lives through specialist care.

Changing CEOs of TTH will not solve any problems. There are junior and middle-level staff who are so powerful that they are "untouchables", and do as they please. Government must as a matter of utmost urgency set up a thorough forensic audit of TTH. We can't continue filling new wine in old wine bottles. Many heads must roll, mindsets must be altered, and the facility should be managed professionally, devoid of all external influences.

Fuseini Abdulai Braimah
0550558008 / 0500252525
[ [email protected] ]