An alarming viral footage has surfaced on social media of some patients at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) seen lying on the bare floors of Ghana’s biggest hospital.
In the viral footage, several patients, visibly frail and in need of urgent care, were captured sleeping on the hard hospital floors.
The alarming video exposed the extent of the lack of beds at wards at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital as the ongoing “no bed syndrome” crisis worsens.
The CDR Africa in a post sharing the video stated, “Patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital are being forced to lie and sit on the floor in the emergency ward as the ongoing ‘no bed syndrome’ crisis worsens.
Following the government’s directive that no patient should be turned away due to a lack of beds, nurses continue to admit everyone who needs urgent care.
However, the hospital is struggling with a severe shortage of beds and space, leaving many patients without a proper place to rest while waiting for treatment”.
Some Ghanaians reacting to the development stated, “This is deeply disturbing. How have we, as citizens, come to accept this?
This is what happens when directives are issued without any serious strategic thinking behind them. Policies made on paper can create chaos in real clinical settings.
Just imagine being the clinician on duty, forced to work under these conditions. Now imagine being the patient, sick, vulnerable, and left on the floor because there is no space and no workable plan.
This is completely unacceptable”.
“Meanwhile, the current government has abandoned all ongoing hospital projects and focused on spending the funds on presidential jets, sanitary pads and 24-hour market”, a netizen added.
One X user added, “To solve this is very simple. Korle-Bu should have received only cases that have referrals or were brought in by paramedics. But the main solution is to equip and open the poly clinic change or to annex to receive these cases before they can be sent to the main Korle-Bu”.
“I thought Korle Bu Teaching Hospital had acquired 200 EXTRA hospital beds a few years back. Is it that those beds never made it to the hospital, or even with those 200 extra beds, they are still not enough for all the current emergency care patients🤔?”, a netizen added.
One more Ghanaian added, “This ruined the image of Ghana. People should be careful of what they post on social media, not everything is to be posted on social media platforms”.
“This is so bad, how much do beds cost that the govt and the hospitals can’t provide? Is it an issue of just beds or do they not have wards to admit more beds?”, a netizen added.
Meanwhile, the development follows, President John Mahama, who at the State of the Nation Address on February 27, 2026, warned all health facilities against turning away patients who report to their facility for emergency treatment.
According to John Mahama, every Ghanaian who seeks medical attention must be attended to.
He explained that health workers do not need to have a comfortable bed to save a patient.
Addressing the nation on Friday, February 27, President Mahama stated, “This year, the government will fully roll out a free primary healthcare programme, removing all cost barriers at the primary level where it is mostly needed, while strengthening prevention, screening, and health promotion, especially for non-communicable diseases”.
“Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Health is expected to issue guidelines to eliminate the unacceptable no-bed syndrome. Patients facing medical emergencies must be received and given help, even under makeshift conditions. You don’t need to have a comfortable bed to save a patient”.
Mahama boldly warned, “No patient must be turned away from any health facility they report to”.
He further revealed plans to increase capacity at the Ridge Hospital by implementing phase two of the project.
“In the meantime, the government will expand capacity by implementing the Ridge Hospital phase two project to increase the number of beds at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. We will also continue and complete the police hospital, and also continue and complete the La General Hospital”, Mahama added.
Watch the video below:
🇬🇭 Patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital are being forced to lie and sit on the floor in the emergency ward as the ongoing “no bed syndrome” crisis worsens.
— CDR AFRICA (@cdrafrica) March 20, 2026
Following the government’s directive that no patient should be turned away due to a lack of beds, nurses continue to… pic.twitter.com/Bv0lMbqU5L