The Deputy Minister for Health, Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has announced a broad set of reforms aimed at tackling Ghana’s long-standing “no bed syndrome,”
The Deputy Minister for Health, Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has announced a broad set of reforms aimed at tackling Ghana’s long-standing “no bed syndrome,” assuring Parliament that emergency healthcare delivery will undergo major improvements nationwide.
Addressing the House on Tuesday, February 24, Dr. Ayensu-Danquah said the government was rolling out comprehensive interventions to strengthen patient care across the entire health system — from Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and health centres to secondary and tertiary referral hospitals.
According to her, the reform agenda focuses on intensive retraining of emergency personnel, upgrading critical medical equipment, and improving the operational capacity of the National Ambulance Service.
“We are retraining emergency services staff, doctors, nurses, and even security personnel who operate in emergency rooms,” she told Parliament.
“This training extends to the ambulance service itself, because emergency care is a chain — and every link must work.”
Dr. Ayensu-Danquah assured lawmakers that ambulances across the country would soon be properly equipped to provide life-saving interventions during transit, stressing that delays and inadequate supplies must no longer cost lives.
“This patient might have survived if the necessary supplies had been available in the ambulance,” she said, while extending condolences to the family of the late Charles Amissah. “We are committed to preventing the needless loss of any Ghanaian life.”
Her statement follows the death of 29-year-old Charles Amissah, an engineer with Promasidor Ghana Limited, who died on February 6 after sustaining injuries in a hit-and-run accident at the Circle Overpass in Accra.
Reports indicate that Mr. Amissah was allegedly denied admission at three major hospitals — the Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital — reportedly due to the unavailability of beds.
Although emergency responders provided first aid at the scene and during transfers, repeated refusals and delays are believed to have worsened his condition. He later suffered cardiac arrest at Korle Bu and was pronounced dead.
In the aftermath, management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has interdicted two doctors and two nurses pending the outcome of a full investigation.
A committee has been constituted to probe the circumstances surrounding the emergency care provided, with hospital authorities pledging full transparency and cooperation.
The Deputy Minister said the reforms underway are intended not only to address infrastructural gaps but also to restore public confidence in the country’s emergency healthcare system, ensuring that no patient in critical condition is left without timely care again.
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