The government has advanced plans to expand emergency bed capacity at major health facilities as part of measures to eliminate delays in emergency care and tackle the persistent ‘no bed syndrome’ across the country.
According to the Ministry of Health, the physical expansion will be supported by an integrated digital bed management and referral coordination system. The system provides real-time visibility into bed availability and tracks patients who spend more than 24 hours in emergency units.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the National Command Centre for Bed and Referral Management at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on Tuesday, the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, explained that the initiative aims to prevent instances where facilities turn away emergency cases despite available space elsewhere.
The system is currently being piloted across major facilities, including the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), and selected teaching hospitals.
“We are only piloting and teaching hospitals are on board. Greater Accra Regional Hospital is also on board, University of Ghana Medical Center are also on board and so this is just to start with. From there we’ll put on board all the regional hospitals. When we finish the regional hospitals, we’ve tested and we think that is solid, we can go to the district level,” officials explained.
The project lead for Bed Management, Dr Justine Osei, revealed that over 650 hospitals have been integrated into the digital platform, mapping more than 5,000 beds for live tracking. The pilot also incorporates 10 ambulances in the Greater Accra Region and 10 in the Ashanti Region, coordinating patient transfers based on medical needs, proximity, and facility capacity.
Hon. Akandoh emphasized that whilst digital monitoring optimizes resource allocation, direct expansion of physical infrastructure remains a top priority for the government.
“This will not necessarily add physical beds but it will help us to manage what we have. As you saw the beds available, where it is full and all that. This is not the only measure we are putting in place to deal with the limited number of beds at our emergencies,” Mr. Akandoh said.
He noted that government plans to expand emergency departments at key referral centres across Ghana.
“We are looking at opening up the emergency at the Military. We are also looking at, the President is looking at how we can also expand the emergencies at the teaching hospitals. We are going to look at Korle-Bu, we are looking at Komfo Anokye, we are looking at Ridge Hospital, we are looking at 37 Military Hospital and we are looking at Tamale Teaching Hospital. We are going to add a number of beds to their emergencies,” the Minister stated.
The Health Minister stated that combining real-time technology with capacity expansion will significantly reduce response times and boost survival rates for emergency cases nationwide.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
