History
Our History
Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital was established in 1938 as a Military Hospital by the colonial government of the Gold Coast for the then British West African Royal Force based in Takoradi during the Second World War.
The main purpose of the Hospital was to offer medical services to recruited soldiers during their hard and final training for war.
Takoradi was selected as the final training camp because it had the only sea port then and served as gateway for the transportation of soldiers to the warfront.
When the Second World War ended in 1945, the Military authorities handed over the Hospital to the Ministry of Health of the Gold Coast Colony in 1948 and this facilitated the relocation of an old hospital at Sekondi to ‘Effia Nkwanta’, a location which literally translates in Fanti as the junction or by lane to the Effia Community.
This location then gave rise to the name Effia Nkwanta Hospital.
Physical Structure
Progressively after Ghana’s independence in 1957, the hospital has had some additions to its infrastructure. These include the current Out-Patient Department, OPD Laboratory and Records Department.
In the period from the 1970’s to 1990’s, new structures were added-on including the main service tower, the theatre building, the Administration Block and the Accident and Emergency Center.
A long staircase links the two OPDs to the main service at the top on both the sides of which are ENT, Dental, Dispensary, Injection/Dressing and Oral Rehydration Departments (now the Adolescent Unit).
The main hospital building on the hill is composed of an old storey building, the Tower and Service blocks. The old block houses Ward B (Paediatrics) on the first floor. The ground floor also consists of Ward C (Male Medical), Ward D (Male Orthopaedic), Ward A (Female Medical) and Orthopaedic Theatre. There are offices and other departments/units also on the ground floor of the old block which are offices of the Health Information Unit, NHIS office and Accounts Department. There is also a newly created Casualty Department with Laboratory services.
The Tower block caters to the Maternity and surgical departments while the services block houses the X-ray, Pharmacy, Catering, Laundry, and Administration. Others are Estate, Procurement, and Transport Units. The rest are the Accounts Office, Nursing Administration, CSSD, Stores, Maintenance and Equipment Technologist Office.
On the left side of the front of the main building is the Blood Bank Centre which services both Western and Central Regions. Adjacent to the Blood Bank is a building that caters to the Hospital Chaplain and the office of the Social Welfare Department.
More recent additions to the facility are the Public Health Reference Laboratory, the Physiotherapy Department, and the Comprehensive Care Unit.
Effia Nkwanta has a bed capacity of 300 and a workforce of about 1,000. The hospital serves the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis and also receives referrals from all parts of the country.
