ADB Ghana Medical Systems leads hospital engineering for $100m Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Cancer Centre

Ghanaian healthcare solutions company ADB Ghana Medical Systems Group Limited is leading the hospital engineering and infrastructure component of the $100 million Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Excellence at Kwaso in the Ashanti Region.

The company’s involvement in the project forms part of its broader expansion from medical equipment supply into hospital engineering, construction, maintenance and project management.

Established in 2006 by Adann Benjamin Diaz, ADB Ghana Medical Systems has evolved from a medical supplies business into a specialist healthcare solutions provider serving hospitals, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and other institutions within the health sector.

Mr Diaz said the company’s growing involvement in major healthcare infrastructure projects reflects its ambition to contribute to the development of Ghana’s health sector beyond the supply of medical equipment.

“Our ambition is not simply to supply medical equipment. We want to build a company that provides solutions, develops expertise and contributes meaningfully to the infrastructure required for quality healthcare delivery in Ghana and across Africa,” he said.

ADB Ghana Medical Systems has expanded its services to cover the planning, management and maintenance of hospital environments and technical systems, as well as turnkey hospital construction.

The company says the integrated approach allows it to consider the needs of health facilities more broadly — from the medical equipment required by clinicians to the infrastructure, utilities and technical systems needed to keep healthcare facilities operational.

That capability has positioned the company to participate in projects requiring coordination between clinical requirements, building infrastructure and specialised hospital systems.

The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Excellence is being developed on 52 acres of land at Kwaso in the Ejisu Municipality.

Named in honour of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the five-year project is being funded by Breast Care International (BCI), Peace and Love Hospitals, Global Health Catalyst and the University of Pennsylvania.

The overall project is estimated at $100 million, with the first phase costing about $10 million.

Phase One includes a radiotherapy suite, research wing, artificial intelligence hub, education centre and community outreach facilities.

Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai, President of Breast Care International and Founding Director of the Centre, said the project is intended to strengthen Ghana’s capacity to provide advanced cancer care while positioning the country as a destination for medical treatment.

“The Centre will also be the hub for medical tourism and stop the movement of cancer patients from Africa to other continents for treatments,” she said.

When completed, the centre is expected to employ more than 250 people and include a chemotherapy suite, brachytherapy suite, CT scan simulators, admission wards, laboratories, surgical theatres and recovery wards, among other facilities.

The project is therefore expected to combine treatment, research, training and community outreach in a single specialised cancer-care facility.

The cancer centre is not the only major healthcare infrastructure project involving ADB Ghana Medical Systems.

The company is also involved in the development of a specialist cardiology facility at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

For decades, KATH operated without a catheterisation laboratory, meaning patients requiring certain specialist cardiac interventions often had to travel to Accra.

The new facility is intended to bring advanced cardiac services closer to patients in the Ashanti Region and surrounding areas.

A recent technical working visit to the KATH project site brought together representatives of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, KATH and the Ministry of Health to assess key aspects of the development, including power capacity, utilities integration and structural planning.

The project highlights the increasingly technical demands involved in developing specialised healthcare facilities, where medical equipment must operate within appropriately designed electrical, structural and utility systems.

For ADB Ghana Medical Systems, the expansion into hospital engineering represents an effort to build a Ghanaian healthcare brand capable of competing beyond the domestic market.

Mr Diaz said the company intends to expand into other West African markets while building the expertise and partnerships needed to deliver healthcare infrastructure to international standards.

“We believe indigenous companies have an important role to play in solving Africa’s healthcare challenges. Our responsibility is to build the expertise, systems and partnerships that allow us to deliver at the highest possible standard,” he said.

He said the company’s measure of success should ultimately be tied to the impact its work has on patients and healthcare delivery.

“Healthcare is ultimately about people. Every piece of equipment we supply, every facility we help develop and every technical solution we provide should ultimately contribute to better care for someone who needs it.”

ADB Ghana Medical Systems says its long-term objective is therefore to combine medical technology, engineering expertise and project management to support the development of healthcare infrastructure in Ghana and, eventually, across the wider African market.