Ghana Asuoso Hospital

The expansion of St Theresa Clinic to a hospital was initiated by Dutch nurse Marian Remmerswaal and clinic manager Lawrence Bempong. Calderflower Architecture was engaged to design the new hospital. In August 2012 we visited Ghana to meet Marian and the project team. We studied the site and local architecture to understand the construction systems and material availability.

The existing clinic commonly saw up to 60 patients a day. It offered only basic medical services, consisting of a general eye clinic, an out patient department with a pathology section and dispensary, and a small maternity unit. The existing buildings were small houses adapted to suit the clinic functions, without basic services of water, mains power or sewer. The development and construction of a new hospital was proposed to offer a wider range of services including in-patient care and surgical wards, and attend to a larger number of people.