307 Ambulances: 'No-bed' syndrome will be a thing of the past – Dr Nsiah-Asare assures

Presidential Special Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, has said that the newly commissioned 307 ambulances will eliminate the issue of no bed syndrome in the country.

According to him, the no-bed-syndrome which has resulted in some patients being denied proper medical attention and led to some deaths will soon become ‘a thing of the past’.

He noted that the feat will be achieved with the help of the regional integration system where ambulances in the country will be connected to emergency centers nationwide so that when a patient in the ambulance is headed towards a hospital without beds, the ambulance makes a swift move to the nearest hospital with available beds.

An ‘impressed’ Dr Nsiah-Asare in an interview with GhanaWeb’s Naa Oyoe Quartey said, “This is also going to assist with the no bed syndrome because when the ambulance moves, it will be in communication with the emergency centres. So if they take a patient and then they realize that the patient is going to Korle- Bu but there is no bed in Koorle but Ridge can take care of the patient, they will take the patient to Ridge or even Dodowa.”

“So using the Regional integration system I am very sure that the no bed syndrome will be a thing of the past.” He assured.

Dr Nsiah-Asare was speaking on the sidelines of the commissioning of newly acquired 307 ambulances by President Akufo-Addo at the Black Stars Square in Accra on January 28, 2020.

The 307 ambulances, government said, is to revamp the health sector as well as serve as a swift response to issuing health services to Ghanaians.

Rolling out the next ‘rescue’ step on improving health care delivery, the medical officer disclosed that the National Ambulance Service and government will add “well equipped state of the art” air ambulances to reach out to citizens in areas difficult to access by roads

“The Ambulance Service going forward which I’m sure the government will do in the next timeis to add air ambulances; one or two, well equipped state of the art ambulance which can go by air so that they can pick patients from very high to rich areas which are in dying situations. So we can pick patients with boats so that we where there are islands, the boat can go there and bring them.”