President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to increase emergency bed capacity at four major hospitals in Ghana to at least 10 per cent of their functional bed capacity from next year as part of efforts to tackle the persistent ‘No Bed Syndrome’.
The intervention will initially target the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital.
President Mahama said the additional beds would be supported with the necessary medical personnel, equipment, oxygen and essential supplies to ensure they are fully operational and capable of handling emergency cases.
He announced the initiative at the 68th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), held under the theme, “The No Bed Syndrome: Reimagining a Befitting Emergency Response System for Ghana.”
The President acknowledged that the country’s emergency healthcare challenges went beyond the availability of physical beds, noting that adequate staffing, functional medical equipment and essential supplies were equally critical to ensuring effective emergency care.
As part of broader measures to strengthen emergency response, he announced the commencement of operations at the Ghana Armed Forces Critical Care and Emergency Hospital, which is expected to provide additional capacity for managing emergency cases and promote collaboration between military and civilian health services.
He also disclosed that government was piloting an Integrated Bed Management and Referral Coordination System to enable hospitals and ambulance teams to identify facilities with available beds and coordinate the safe transfer of patients.
On healthcare workforce distribution, President Mahama revealed that 100 doctors had accepted postings to underserved communities.
He said government was also working towards regular annual recruitment of health professionals while developing financial and non-financial incentives to encourage health workers to accept and remain in deprived areas.
To strengthen emergency transportation, the President further announced plans to procure 100 new ambulances and repair another 100 grounded ambulances to improve emergency response across the country.
He called on the Ghana Medical Association to provide practical recommendations on emergency care delivery, workforce deployment and broader healthcare reforms.
President Mahama stressed the need for a healthcare system in which patients receive timely medical attention without having to navigate a fragmented referral system during emergencies.
The conference brought together the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, traditional leaders, chief executives of health agencies, representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and other key stakeholders in the health sector.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
