The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. Rojo Mettle-Nunoo says plans are underway for the expansion and upgrading of the Ridge Hospital in Accra to the status of a Regional Hospital. He said the ministry was sourcing funds to expand the Ridge Hospital into a 613-bed hospital, but in the meantime, measures had been put in place to expand the Out Patient Department (OPD) of the Adabraka Polyclinic and make it an annex of the Ridge Hospital. Mr. Mettle-Nunoo has attributed the recent accommodation crisis at the hospital to the fact that pregnant women refuse to deliver at private hospitals despite having gone through anti-natal treatment at those hospitals. He said this practice has led to the overflow of patients at government hospitals as some patients tend to run to government hospitals for special treatments, free maternal care, and health insurance. Dr. Nunoo appealed to pregnant mothers who are due for delivery to go to nearby hospitals and clinics for care. He suggested that patients should only go to the referral hospitals when they have emergencies. The Medical Superintendent of the Ridge Hospital at the weekend served notice the hospital was heavily overstretched and could stop further admission of patients if the facility was not expanded, explaining that the situation had led to a queuing of pregnant women due for delivery. Story by Farida Shaibu/Asempa News/Ghana