Accra has genuinely good specialists. It also has waiting lists, equipment that is sometimes down, and a handful of gaps that send people abroad.

Knowing which is which before you need to is worth a great deal.

Where specialist care sits

Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is the national referral centre for the south and holds most of the sub-specialties: the National Cardiothoracic Centre, oncology, neurosurgery, nephrology, the burns unit. Complex cases end up here.

37 Military Hospital has a strong reputation across specialties and is open to civilians.

University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) at Legon is newer and better equipped than most, and increasingly where people go for imaging and specialist outpatient work.

Greater Accra Regional (Ridge) Hospital covers a broad range after its rebuild.

Private hospitals — Nyaho, the Bank Hospital, Lister, Euracare and others — run specialist clinics. Many senior consultants work in both the public and private systems, so the same doctor you would wait months to see at Korle Bu may have a private clinic session this week at a price.

That last point is the most useful thing to understand about Ghanaian specialist care.

What is well covered

  • Cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery. The National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle Bu is a regional referral centre and takes patients from across West Africa.
  • Obstetrics and gynaecology. Strong, in both sectors. — Having a baby in Accra
  • General and orthopaedic surgery.
  • Ophthalmology. — Dentists and eye care
  • Fertility medicine. A well-developed private sector, with Lister among the best known.
  • Infectious disease. Unsurprisingly, given the epidemiology.

Where the gaps are

  • Dialysis is available but expensive, and not covered by NHIS for chronic renal failure. This is the single most consequential gap in the scheme and a well-known source of financial catastrophe for families.
  • Cancer care. Radiotherapy capacity is concentrated and limited. NHIS covers cervical and breast cancer; most other cancer treatment it does not.
  • Organ transplantation is very limited.
  • Some paediatric sub-specialties.
  • Advanced neurosurgery and complex paediatric cardiac surgery are the usual reasons people travel.

People who can afford it travel to South Africa, India, the UK, Germany or increasingly Turkey and Dubai. Medical travel is a normal, discussed part of Ghanaian middle-class life, and it is expensive.

What it costs

Private specialist consultations start around ₵400 and rise. Investigations — imaging, scopes, labs — are usually the larger cost, and procedures larger again.

Ask for the total cost before agreeing to anything, including tests. Ask what is covered by NHIS or your private insurer, and what is not. Facilities will tell you if you ask; they will not always volunteer it.

Getting seen

Through referral. A GP or polyclinic refers you. This is the route in the public system, and the referral letter matters — keep a copy.

Directly. In the private sector you can usually book a specialist yourself.

Through a consultant’s private session. Ask at the hospital which consultant covers the specialty and whether they have private clinic hours.

Practical advice

  • Bring your whole file. Every prior result, scan and discharge summary. Nobody else is holding your history.
  • Ask for the report, not just the verdict. Get imaging on a disc or by file, and get the radiologist’s written report.
  • Get a second opinion for anything major. Normal, expected, and not an insult.
  • Check insurance limits before a procedure. Private policies have annual caps that a single admission can exhaust.
  • Ask about the drug supply. For long-term conditions, ask whether the medicine is reliably available in Ghana before building a life around it.

Finding a doctor Hospitals and clinics Mental health in Accra