The Assistant Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has underscored the urgent need for the government to invest in emergency care services to combat the persistent “no-bed syndrome”.
According to Philemon Agyapong, a holistic approach to these investments is the only way to effectively address the systemic challenges currently undermining healthcare delivery in the country.
Mr Agyapong revealed a startling reality regarding the capacity of Ghana’s major health facilities.
He noted that the combined emergency bed capacity of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), and the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) does not even reach 200.
This lack of infrastructure creates a significant burden on the professionals working within these facilities. Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5 FM, he emphasised that acknowledging these structural deficits is the first step toward finding a sustainable solution.
He further observed that existing emergency centres are chronically under-resourced, overcrowded, and overstretched.
In proposing solutions, Mr Agyapong argued that simply purchasing more beds for Korle-Bu or other hospitals will not solve the underlying issue, as many of these facilities lack the physical floor space to accommodate additional equipment.
Furthermore, he highlighted the critical need to recruit and train more professionals, noting that the current workforce is insufficient to manage the heavy workloads, which ultimately threatens both patient safety and the personal well-being of the staff.
“It was a great thing for the health minister to send 200 more beds to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, but the question is: does the unit have the space to contain these beds? We need to expand our emergency units and make them befitting emergency units. Aside from that, we also need to consider the health professionals. If our intention is to prevent patients from being turned away, then we need to employ more; if not, within the shortest possible time, we will have an increase in infection rates among health professionals. Also, we may record more errors or mistakes.
So, it would be important to address these issues holistically. We need stakeholder engagement and to use the opportunity to address emergency care in our health facilities. As we speak, if you combine Korle-Bu, Ridge, UGMC, and 37 Military Hospitals, their beds in the emergency centres are not up to 200. That is a major concern we have to focus on. Government must employ more nurses and midwives and encourage those already in service to go for professional training as part of efforts for them to offer more professional care.”
Meanwhile, he has advised the government to resource the various polyclinics across the country so they will have the capacity to handle specific medical conditions, thereby reducing the stress on the major hospitals.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana