News
KATH Psychiatric unit cries for space
Inadequate space at the Psychiatric unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is having a negative effect on quality healthcare.
The unit has been seeing about 15,000 patients, every year, but has space for only 11 beds, something that is hampering quality care delivery.
Doctors and nurses are sometimes forced to sit in the corridors to provide services.
This, according to the Head of the Psychiatric unit, Dr Ruth Owusu-Antwi, “is too bad for patient-doctor confidentiality”.
The unit, established in 1981, has not seen any expansion over the years, and the continued increase in admissions and Out-Patients Department (OPD) cases are putting intense pressure on it.
Doctors, she said, were often compelled to discharge patients earlier than they should – before their full recovery.
In a chat with this Paper, Dr Owusu-Antwi indicated that prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus and subsequent imposition of the lockdown, daily reported cases were between 12 and 15, but this has shot up to about 20 and 25 cases.
Making a passionate appeal to individuals and organisations to support the facility to complete an expansion project it had started, Dr Owusu-Antwi noted the unit had been recording more mental cases after the lifting of the partial lockdown in the greater Kumasi and other parts of Ghana.
Follow up cases had also increased to about 120 from the pre-lockdown figures which ranged between 80 and 100 cases.
She made reference to a recent study conducted at the Accra, Pantang and KATH Psychiatry, which showed that the latter “has the highest relapse rate” and said this was attributable to the situation where patients were made to go home when they were not fully recovered, and said “we need an expansion for quality health delivery”.
Dr Owusu-Antwi gave some causes of psychiatric problems as post-partum (depression that occurs after childbirth), psychosis, depression, anxiety disorder and substance dependency disorders.
She stressed the determination of the unit to continue to provide quality professional psychiatric services to improve the mental health of the people despite the constraints and called for more clinical psychologists to be employed by the government to assist in handling the rising cases of mental illness.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
Ahyiresu and Abofrem, two quiet communities in the Atwima Mponua District, have been shaken to the core by a chilling midnight drama that reads like a nightmare.
A pastor and a young mother stand accused of attempting to bury a five‑month‑old baby girl alive, a crime that has ignited outrage and disbelief across the township.
According to police, Apostle Richmond Akwasi Frimpong, 36, Head Pastor of the Anointed Grace Prayer Ministry at Kuffour Camp, conspired with his uncle Emmanuel Appiah, 53, and the child’s mother, 23‑year‑old Beatrice Agyapomaa, to dispose of the infant, Anaya Achiaa, under the cover of darkness.
A fourth suspect, Emmanuel Donkor, remains on the run.
The suspects were caught near a refuse dump around 10 pm on April 9, 2026, after a vigilant resident, Akwasi Twezor, noticed their suspicious movements.
When confronted, they claimed the child was already dead and had palace approval for burial. But Twezor’s instincts proved right—the baby was still alive, gasping faintly for breath.
Chief Linguist, Nana Yaw Badu, later confirmed that Frimpong had misled him earlier in the evening, securing permission for burial by falsely declaring the child dead.
The infant was rushed to the Abofrem Clinic, where she is now responding well to treatment. Police described her as “very beautiful.”
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Evelyn Yitamkey, Commander of DOVVSU in Bibiani, confirmed that the suspects have been provisionally charged.
Frimpong faces attempted murder and conspiracy charges, while Agyapomaa and Appiah are charged with conspiracy and abetment.
They were remanded by the Bibiani Circuit Court, presided over by Judge Frank Asiedu Nimako, to assist investigations.
The docket has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for advice, ASP Yitamkey indicated.
The attempted crime has provoked fury among residents, many suspecting ritual motives aimed at bolstering the pastor’s influence.
Crowds attempted to attack the suspects outside court, but police intervention prevented mob justice.
The Assembly Member for Ahyiresu, Yusuf Suleiman, has assured residents that justice will be pursued swiftly.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
The forecourt of the African University of Communications and Business (AUCB) in Accra came alive on Friday with colour, creativity and innovation, as Level 300 students transformed the space into a lively exhibition of ideas.
Under the theme “Building meaningful brands beyond the logo,” the students invited patrons into a world where ordinary products were reimagined through storytelling, design and purpose.
From scented candles to innovative food concepts, each stand told a unique story, one that went beyond aesthetics to capture identity, value and human connection.
For many of the students, the event was more than just an academic exercise; it was a moment to dream out loud.
Guided by their lecturer, Peter Wonders, they explored what it truly means to build a brand in today’s competitive world where trust, consistency and experience matter just as much as logos and slogans.
Chairman of the occasion, Nana Kum Gyata VI, in his remarks said a brand is what people say about you when you are not present.
At the end of the presentations, awards were presented to deserving groups with Vida Nyaneba emerging as the overall best branding student.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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