National Ambulance Service in Bolga in dire need

Correspondence from Upper East Region

The National Ambulance Service in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region has been in operation since 2008.

It started with just one ambulance from the Bolgatanga Regional Ambulance Service which was taking care of the whole region.

Around 2012 however, there was an expansion which saw Navrongo, China, Sandema Zebilla, and Garu getting one each.

Despite the fact that the region can now boast of a good number of ambulances, the operations of the service are clogged by some issues.

The Upper East Regional Director of the National Ambulance Service, spoke to GhanaWeb's Upper East Regional correspondent Sarah Dubure, regarding the matter.

He underlined the lack of fuel supply for their operations, as a major challenge hampering their operations.

He indicated that they have instances where people place emergency calls and they are compelled to tell them that they do not have fuel to operate.

"There is an emergency, you call for the ambulance, and we tell you that the vehicle is available but unfortunately we do not have fuel to move.

The director pointed out that it is very disturbing for one to go to work and not have the required resources to deliver.

He stated that in the event of emergencies, he ensures the case gets to its destination by hook or crook.

"If it is a dire emergency, whether you like it or not you have to ensure that the case gets to its destination," He said.

Mr. Awuni added that in certain instances, they are propelled to go to the filling stations to borrow.

"In certain situations, we are compelled to go to the filling stations to go and borrow," He spilled

He further added that as it stands, they are owing Goil some amount of money.

"As I speak to you, l have monies am supposed to go and pay Goil, so some of us are in carry forward as far as emergencies are concerned", he divulged.

He appealed for support so that they could effectively serve the general public as mandated.

"I am appealing to everybody, benevolent bodies, and government. The government cannot do it all. There are people who are in the region, he appealed.

"At least if an NGO comes and says, Okay, fine, if there is any case as far as neonate or neonatal care that we need to take to Tamale, they can just say, go here, we will go and pay," he added.

He was emphatic that they did not need raw cash from anyone but payments at the filling stations, so that they could always access fuel when the need arose.

"We do not need money from anybody; just go and have a Memorandum of Understanding with any of the filling stations, especially Goil for our injector's sake," he emphasised.

Another disturbing issue the Director raised was the rampant rate at which the injectors of their vehicles got damaged.

According to him, they have the injectors of their vehicles rampantly breaking down due to the kind of fuel they use.

He explained that their vehicles are modern ones, and for that matter run effectively on certain types of fuel.

He mentioned 'Goil' as the leading fuel brand suitable for their vehicles. He added that Total was okay for their vehicles too.

"These vehicles are very modern vehicles that need even the type of fuel to run should be very good." He said.

He mentioned that there have been instances where they bought fuel from a particular station and could not start the vehicle.

He explained that their vehicles are high-bridge ones that need light fuel to ensure that they keep running.

The director sadly added that due to convenience, they unfortunately fall on the other fuel brands, which end up taking a toll on their injectors.

He detailed that almost all their vehicles had interjector issues. He mentioned that Bongo and Nangodi Garu had interjector issues, which have been worked on.

In Garu's case, he explained that they worked on it but later had a case where they could not get the required brand of fuel to move.

"We had a case how do you move all the way from Garu down to where you will get Goil before you can fill your tank again?". He quizzed.

Mr. Awuni said they had to fall on a different brand, which made the ambulance break down again.

"So he was compelled to buy within his area, and the vehicle grounded again in no time." He added.

He concluded by appealing for support to help them work effectively. He added that they would prefer fuel supply, specifically from Goil and possibly Total.

"We will be happy if they are able to get us fuel from these designated places, Goil specifically, maybe Total." He ended