Medical facilities on some of our ambulances have expired - PRO

Simons Yusif Kewura, Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Ambulance Service has revealed the sub-standard ambulances bought for them in 2016 are still at post.

Government of Ghana in 2016 procured some 200 ambulances out of which 30 were sub-standard (did not meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health).

Speaking to Kwame Tutu on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, the PRO said, the remaining ambulances are woefully inadequate for an effective health delivery-as some of them are grounded.

He explained some of the ambulances were procured in 2012 and by the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, these ambulances had had some of the medical facilities expired.

This he lamented is hampering the effective delivery of healthcare and has appealed to the current administration to intervene.

“The lifespan, of every emergency vehicle is normally five years, which means that the NAS needs to get a new fleet of vehicles, but we are compelled to use the old ones. Some of the medical facilities in these ambulances have expired. It can no longer work effectively.

The ambulances cannot work to their full capacity. We are spending a lot on maintenance cost and that is worrying,’’ he said.

When asked the number of ambulances they currently have, he said, he will be unable to do so due to the conditions of the fleet they currently have.