President John Dramani Mahama has advised against health professionals turning away patients simply because there is no bed to admit them.
He maintains that, people in need of healthcare especially in emergency situations should be treated even if at unusual places.
President’s comment adds to growing calls by the public for hospitals and professionals to do better following the death of one engineer, Charles Amissah.
The 29-year old tragically lost his life on February 6, after he was turned away by three major referral hospitals. He was a victim of hit and run at the Circle Overpass in Accra.
He had been rushed to the Police, Ridge and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospitals but the three all major facilities rejected him citing lack of beds.
Insistence by ambulance service officers for these professionals to stabilize Amissah in the ambulance was not heeded following which he died after losing so much blood.
While the Police and Ridge Hospitals continue to keep quiet on the matter, Korle-Bu, where Amissah finally gave up, has interdicted 2 doctors and 2 nurses, pending the submission of an investigative committee report.
Incidentally, he was buried on Friday, February 27, the same day President Mahama delivered the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) with a call by his family to ensure government does everything humanly possible to end the no-bed syndrome.
Speaking in Parliament, as part of his address, president Mahama regretted the phenomenon saying under no circumstance should an emergency be turned away on the basis that there is no bed.
He affirmed that in due course the Minister responsible for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, will unveil guidelines to tackle the situation.
The president said the measure forms part of broader efforts to reform and strengthen Ghana’s health care delivery system amid increasing demand for services and infrastructure constraints in some facilities.
“The minister of health is expected to issue guidelines to eliminate the unacceptable no-bed syndrome.
Patients facing medical emergencies must be received and given help if even under makeshift conditions.
You don’t need to have a comfortable bed to save a patient. No patient must be turned away from any health facility they report to”, he said.
He also raised concerns over the growing burden of non-communicable diseases which he said accounts for 40 percent of deaths recorded in health facilities nationwide.
By Gifty Boateng