President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Tamale will receive a brand new Catheterisation Laboratory (Cat Lab) machine at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, a move he says will significantly improve specialist cardiac care in the Northern Region.
Mr Mahama made the announcement during his Resetting Tour of Tamale on Saturday, April 18, 2026, indicating that the installation of the equipment will end the long-standing practice of referring patients with certain heart conditions to Kumasi or Accra for treatment.
“Tomorrow, we’ll go to the Tamale hospital to install a machine. They’re installing a machine called a Cat Lab. Tamale has never had it,” he said.
He explained that the absence of the machine has meant that patients diagnosed with blocked arteries and related heart conditions had to travel long distances to access care.
“So if you had that particular condition, you had to go to Kumasi or to Accra,” he noted.
Mr Mahama said government has procured a brand new machine for the facility, describing it as a major boost to healthcare delivery in the northern part of the country.
“Today, we bought a brand new machine for Tamale,” he stated.
He went on to explain in simple terms the purpose of the Cat Lab, which is used to diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions, particularly blocked arteries.
“It has to do with your arteries,” he said.
“Those of you who, when you go to buy waakye and then she’s stirring the soup and then you see the oily meat, you see the meat with fats — it’s not good for your health though. But if you eat it, it lines your arteries and it blocks your arteries,” he added.
Mr Mahama said the new equipment will enable doctors in Tamale to perform procedures that reopen blocked arteries and restore proper blood flow.
“And if you have that condition, there’s a machine that the doctors use and go into your arteries and open it up so that blood can flow through,” he explained.
“Tamale didn’t have it. We brought a brand new one and they’ll be installing it. So tomorrow we’re going there,” he added.
The installation of the Cat Lab is expected to strengthen the capacity of the Tamale Teaching Hospital to handle complex cardiac cases locally, reduce emergency referrals to southern Ghana, and improve survival rates for patients suffering from heart-related conditions in the Northern Region and beyond.
Source: Mubarak Yakubu/angelonline.com
