Biomedical Engineering Division
OIC BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING DIVISION
Who We Are
The Biomedical Engineering Division (BMED) is an essential unit of the 37 Military Hospital. It is the technical backbone of healthcare delivery at the premier military hospital of the Ghana Armed Forces. BMED was established to provide specialised engineering support to clinical operations. It has grown from a small technical unit into a full-spectrum health technology management department. It now serves the Hospital, the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services and affiliated Medical Centres and Medical Reception Stations across the country.
Our engineers and technicians work at the intersection of engineering and medicine. They ensure that every piece of equipment used in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients is safe, functional and fit for purpose. BMED covers the operating theatre, the emergency unit, the oxygen plant and the radiology suite. BMED keeps the Hospital running.
Our History
BMED traces its origins to the Electromedical Engineering Cell, part of the internal technical support structure of 37 Military Hospital under the Admin(Med). This arrangement distinguished healthcare-specific equipment support from the general mechanical and engineering services provided by the Light Aid Detachment (LAD) and the 491 Engineers Detachment, both under the Admin(Gen). The LAD handled vehicles, welding, refrigeration and general works. The Cell handled medical equipment, but lacked the organic biomedical engineering expertise to manage it independently. Hospital Engineering Limited GmbH (HEL) of Germany was contracted to maintain and service equipment, while the Cell retained supervisory oversight. This arrangement extended into the Hospital’s second phase of expansion, but it exposed a systemic gap: the Ghana Armed Forces had no internal biomedical engineering capacity of its own, and no structured technical support extended to Medical Reception Stations across the Garrisons.
The turning point came through a Defence Staff Committee recommendation, formalised in correspondence referenced GHQ/9052/A/MED dated 03 November 2010. It called for the strengthening of medical equipment management and recommended that qualified GAF personnel be considered for a Head of Biomedical Unit appointment. The first Biomedical Engineer commissioned within the Ghana Armed Forces Health Services was posted to 37 Military Hospital. When HEL departed in 2016, the presence of an organic Biomedical Engineer ensured continuity of service and minimal downtime of high-end equipment, validating the argument for internal capacity over external dependency.
Correspondence referenced MH/325/Q dated 16 March 2015 formally requested the posting of two biomedical engineers, commissioned in 2012, from the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) to 37 Military Hospital. This transfer moved specialised technical personnel into the clinical command framework of the Medical Corps, marking a structural shift from engineering-based supervision to clinically aligned biomedical management. A further proposal, submitted through GHQ/9241/1/A/MED dated 08 May 2017, sought to institutionalise biomedical engineering within the Ghana Armed Forces Health Services organogram.
The definitive policy milestone came with the Task Implementation of a Defence Staff Committee directive, referenced GHQ/1008/8/1/COS/4 and dated 25 October 2017, which made Biomedical Engineering an integral component of the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services. At the national level, the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) further reinforced this position, regulating Biomedical Engineers and Technicians as Allied Health Professionals under the Allied Health Professions Act, 2013 (Act 857). The progression from an Electromedical Engineering Cell, to a Biomedical Engineering Unit, to a fully established Biomedical Engineering Division mirrors an existing GAF precedent: just as the Medical Stores and Equipment Depot is administered under the Ghana Armed Forces Health Services despite GHQ(Log) overseeing general logistics, biomedical engineering belongs under the Medical Corps because its mandate is inherently clinical. Today, the Division manages the full lifecycle of medical equipment, provides procurement advisory, develops manpower and extends technical support across the Ghana Armed Forces Health
What We Do
Our work spans the full spectrum of health technology management. It covers infrastructure planning, equipment procurement, hands-on clinical engineering support, research and development. We operate across two main departments. Each has a defined set of responsibilities and sub Divisions.
Technical Service Management Department
The Technical Service Management Department provides the administrative, strategic and logistical foundation for the Division. This foundation enables consistent and accountable engineering support. The Department coordinates the non-clinical functions essential to sustainable health technology management. This department oversees the following sub Divisions:
Training
The Department coordinates internal and external training programmes for BMED staff and clinical users. This includes formal biomedical engineering education. It includes equipment-specific training delivered by manufacturers and suppliers. It includes in-house sessions conducted by senior engineers for ward and department staff. User training is a priority since it aids clinical staff to handle equipment correctly. This reduces avoidable damage and extends equipment lifespan.
Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Development
BMED is not solely a maintenance unit. The Research and Development function drives innovation within the Division. It identifies emerging health technologies and evaluates their suitability for the Hospital’s clinical environment. It develops local solutions where commercially available options are inadequate or unaffordable. This function is foundational to the Division’s long-term vision of equipment design and fabrication. The Monitoring and Evaluation function ensures accountability across all BMED operations. It tracks equipment serviceability, maintenance performance, response times and compliance with planned preventive maintenance schedules. Data gathered through this function informs command decisions on equipment replacement, budget allocation and staffing requirements.
Procurement and Stores
This function manages the acquisition of medical equipment, spare parts, consumables and accessories for the Hospital. It provides technical advisory support during procurement processes. It conducts acceptance inspections of newly delivered equipment. It maintains an accurate inventory of all items on charge to the Division. The Stores unit ensures that critical spare parts and consumables are available when needed and this helps reduce equipment downtime.
Technical Service Department
The Technical Service Department is the operational engine of the Division. It is responsible for the hands-on installation, maintenance, repair and management of all medical equipment in the Hospital. Its engineers and technicians work directly with clinical departments. They ensure equipment is safe, serviceable and available at the point of care. The Department operates across the following sub – technical areas:
Life Support and Monitoring
This unit covers the equipment most critical to patient survival. This includes ventilators, anaesthetic machines, defibrillators, infusion and syringe pumps, patient monitors, vital signs monitors, pulse oximeters and suction machines. Engineers in this unit carry out scheduled preventive maintenance. They respond to emergency repair calls. They ensure that life-critical equipment is never out of service longer than necessary. The unit serves all wards, theatres, intensive care units and emergency departments.
Medical Gases
The Medical Gases unit manages the Hospital’s oxygen plant infrastructure. This includes Plant A, Plant B and the filling plant. It also manages the distribution of a network of oxygen pipelines, wall sockets, flow meters and cylinders across all wards and departments. This unit ensures a continuous, safe and adequate supply of medical oxygen and other therapeutic gases to every point of use in the Hospital. It also manages cylinder tracking, leak detection and repair and compliance with safe gas handling standards.
Radiology and Diagnostics
This unit supports the Hospital’s diagnostic imaging and laboratory equipment. This includes X-ray units, ultrasound machines, ECG machines and other investigative devices. Engineers in this unit work closely with the Radiology and Laboratory departments. They maintain the accuracy, safety and availability of diagnostic equipment. Clinical decisions, and therefore patient outcomes, depend directly on this equipment.
Electromedical
The Electromedical unit covers a broad range of specialist equipment used across the Hospital’s departments. This includes physiotherapy machines, ophthalmic equipment, ENT equipment, dental equipment, diathermy machines, operating theatre lights, sterilizers at the Central Sterilization and Supply Depot (CSSD) and laundry equipment. The unit ensures that these varied and specialised devices remain in safe working order. It ensures that faults are resolved with minimum disruption to clinical services.
The Road Ahead
The Biomedical Engineering Division is not standing still. It is building on its established engineering competencies. BMED is working to expand its services into two new areas. These areas will deepen the Division’s contribution to patient care at 37 Military Hospital.
Equipment Design and Fabrication
The Division has long recognized a gap. Not every clinical need can be met by commercially available equipment. This is particularly true within the resource constraints of a military hospital. BMED is building internal capacity to design and fabricate equipment solutions tailored to the Hospital’s specific needs. This work draws on the engineering expertise already resident within the Division.
Limb Fitting and Orthotics
BMED is developing capacity to support the provision of prosthetic limbs and orthotic devices for patients. This service is particularly relevant for military personnel who have sustained injuries in the line of duty. This expansion will bring a critical rehabilitative service closer to the patients who need it most. It will reduce dependence on external referrals.
Contact The Division
Biomedical Engineering Division
37 Military Hospital
Neghelli Barracks, Accra