Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is the premier health care facility in Ghana. It is the only tertiary hospital in the southern part of Ghana. It is a teaching hospital affiliated with the medical school of the University of Ghana. Three centres of excellence, the National Cardiothoracic Centre, the National Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Radiotherapy Centres are all part of it.HistoryEstablished on 9 October 1923, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has grown from an initial 200-bed capacity to 2,000. It is currently the third largest hospital in Africa and the leading national referral centre in Ghana.Korle Bu, which means the valley of the Korle Lagoon, was established as a General Hospital to address the health needs of the indigenous people under Sir Gordon Guggisberg's administration, the then Governor of the Gold Coast.Population growth and the proven efficacy of hospital-based treatment caused a rise in hospital attendance in Korle Bu. By 1953, demand for the hospital's services had escalated so high that the government was compelled to set up a task force to study the situation and make recommendations for the expansion of the hospital.The government accepted and implemented the recommendations of the task force which resulted in the construction of new structures, such as the Maternity, Medical, Surgical and Child Health Blocks. This increased the hospital's bed capacity to 1,200.