No Bed Syndrome: Mahama announces expansion of accident and emergency centres at four major hospitals

President John Mahama has announced plans to expand the accident and emergency centers at four major hospitals in the country, with work expected to begin next year.

The expansion will target Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital as part of efforts to address pressure on their Accident and Emergency departments.

President Mahama said the government is working towards increasing emergency bed capacity to at least 10 per cent of each facility's functional bed capacity.

Using Korle Bu Teaching Hospital as an example, he said the hospital has a functional bed capacity of 1,500 but only 65 beds in its Accident and Emergency Department.

He explained that meeting the proposed 10 per cent target would require more than doubling the existing emergency beds.

"At Korle Bu, for example, achieving this target would mean more than doubling the current emergency bed capacity from 65 to at least 150 beds," he said.

The President indicated that the expansion would not be limited to providing additional beds but would also include the necessary human and logistical resources to make them operational.

"The expansion will be matched with the necessary staff, equipment, oxygen and essential supplies to make the additional capacity fully operational," he stated.

President Mahama also announced the piloting of an Integrated Bed Management and Referral Coordination System (IBMRC) through the Ministry of Health.

The digital platform involves Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, 37 Military Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the National Ambulance Service.

The system is intended to help hospitals and ambulance teams identify facilities with available capacity to receive patients and coordinate their transfer.

He said the effectiveness of the system would depend on accurate information about the actual clinical capacity available at each facility.Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces Critical Care and Emergency Hospital is being opened to the public to provide additional capacity for managing emergency cases.

President Mahama said the facility would begin receiving patients immediately, adding that closer cooperation between military and civilian health services would help make better use of the country's available healthcare resources.He also reiterated that health facilities must not turn away patients arriving in critical condition simply because they have no available beds.

"When a patient arrives in critical condition, we cannot simply say, 'No bed, no bed, go somewhere else.' At the very least, the patient must be assessed," he said.

He stressed that where definitive treatment is unavailable, facilities must provide stabilisation within their capacity before coordinating a safe transfer to another hospital.

The President further said families must receive clear information and guidance throughout the referral process and should not be left to navigate a fragmented healthcare system on their own.