President John Mahama has announced plans to expand Accident and Emergency departments at four major hospitals in Ghana. The expansion, expected to begin in 2027, will cover Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, and the 37 Military Hospital. This move aims to address the persistent bed shortages in the country's emergency healthcare system. The President made this announcement at the 68th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association.
The expansion plans involve increasing emergency bed capacity to at least 10 per cent of each facility's functional bed capacity. For instance, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital currently has 1,500 functional beds but only 65 beds in its Accident and Emergency Department. To achieve the proposed target, the department's emergency bed capacity would need to be increased to at least 150 beds. This represents more than doubling the current emergency bed capacity.
The President emphasized that the expansion would also involve providing the necessary medical personnel, equipment, and supplies to ensure the additional beds can be put to effective use. The expansion will be matched with the necessary staff, equipment, oxygen, and essential supplies to make the additional capacity fully operational. This will enable the hospitals to provide adequate emergency care to patients.
In a related intervention, President Mahama announced plans to pilot an Integrated Bed Management and Referral Coordination System (IBMRC) through the Ministry of Health. The digital platform will connect seven major hospitals, including Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and Tamale Teaching Hospital. The system will provide hospitals and ambulance teams with information on available beds and clinical capacity at participating facilities.
The IBMRC system aims to enable hospitals and ambulance teams to identify suitable hospitals for patients requiring emergency care and coordinate their transfer. However, President Mahama noted that the effectiveness of the system would depend on hospitals providing accurate information about their actual capacity to receive patients. The system will help maximize the use of available healthcare resources.
President Mahama also announced that the Ghana Armed Forces Critical Care and Emergency Hospital was being opened to the public to provide additional capacity for managing emergency cases. The facility is expected to begin receiving patients immediately. The President stressed that stronger collaboration between military and civilian health institutions would help maximize the use of available healthcare resources.
Addressing the persistent problem of patients being turned away from hospitals because of bed shortages, President Mahama insisted that health facilities must assess patients arriving in critical condition, regardless of their available bed capacity. He explained that where a hospital cannot provide the required definitive treatment, patients must be assessed and referred to other facilities if necessary.
Key points
- The expansion of emergency units at four major hospitals aims to increase emergency bed capacity to at least 10 per cent of each facility's functional bed capacity.
- The government will pilot an Integrated Bed Management and Referral Coordination System to provide hospitals and ambulance teams with information on available beds and clinical capacity.
- The Ghana Armed Forces Critical Care and Emergency Hospital will be opened to the public to provide additional capacity for managing emergency cases.
