NAS Demands Comprehensive Emergency Care System Overhaul
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Ambulance Service (NAS), Dr. (Med) George Kojo Owusu, has called for a coordinated, adequately resourced and legally backed emergency healthcare system to end the persistent No Bed Syndrome in Ghana.
He made the call today, Thursday, November 5, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the Scientific Session of the 68th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) at Trinity Hall, Central University, Miotso.
Addressing the gathering of medical professionals, policymakers and other stakeholders, Dr. Owusu stressed that the No Bed Syndrome goes beyond hospital bed shortages, exposing deeper weaknesses in emergency infrastructure, referral coordination, workforce capacity, information systems and healthcare financing.
He recalled the tragic death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Henry Amissah, who, despite being stabilised by NAS personnel following a hit-and-run accident at the Circle Overpass on February 6, 2026, was reportedly turned away by three hospitals due to unavailability of beds.
Describing the incident as a painful reflection of systemic failures, the CEO emphasised that “a directive is not a system,” calling for sustainable reforms rather than repeated administrative instructions.
Challenges and Recommendations
Highlighting the state of emergency healthcare in Ghana, Dr. Owusu noted that the country has approximately 0.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people, against the WHO recommendation of five.
He also cited inadequate ICU capacity, workforce shortages, maternal deaths, road traffic injuries and weak referral coordination as major concerns.
He proposed seven critical interventions to transform emergency healthcare delivery:
1. National Emergency Bed Census: A real-time national platform showing bed, ICU, HDU, ventilator and theatre availability across public and accredited private facilities.
2. Integrated Emergency Dispatch and Referral Centre: Transforming the existing 112 system into a national coordination hub connecting ambulance dispatch with real-time hospital referral capacity.
3. Expanded ICU and HDU Capacity: Doubling functional ICU capacity by 2030, supported by increased specialist and critical care workforce training.
4. Universal Emergency Triage: Ensuring every emergency patient is assessed promptly using standardised triage protocols.
5. Regional Referral Networks: Establishing coordinated referral systems across all 16 regions to reduce pressure on major hospitals in Accra and Kumasi.
6. Sustainable Ambulance Funding: Strengthening fleet maintenance, fuel availability, EMT welfare and scene-response capacity. He also highlighted ongoing efforts to integrate NAS digital applications into Ghana.gov and develop a Fleet Management System covering all 319 stations and five regional workshops.
7. Emergency Care Act: Enacting legislation to guarantee emergency assessment and stabilisation, prohibit demands for payment before emergency assessment and hold facilities accountable for unjustified refusal of emergency patients.
Action
Dr. Owusu urged the Ghana Medical Association to take a leading role in ending the No Bed Syndrome through three commitments: issuing a formal position statement advocating an Emergency Care Act, working with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons to make emergency life-support and triage training part of continuous professional development, and promoting accountability for unjustified refusal of emergency care.
He reaffirmed NAS’s commitment to working with the Ministry of Health, GMA, regulatory institutions and other stakeholders to build a stronger and more responsive emergency care system.
The CEO stressed that the ultimate measure of success must be a healthcare system where no patient is left without timely assessment, stabilisation and appropriate care because of institutional or coordination failures.
“We will not bring him back. But somewhere in this country, tonight, another person will be brought to a hospital gate by an ambulance, or by a taxi, or in the arms of a parent. Whether that person becomes a name we mourn at next year’s Conference, or a patient we discharge with a scar and a story, depends on whether the system at that gate is the system we have, or the system we have agreed, today, to build.”
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