The Head of Dispatch for the Ghana National Ambulance Service in the Greater Accra Region, Joyce Avadzinu, has raised alarm over the severe shortage of ambulances in the region, revealing that only 42 ambulances are currently available to serve the entire area.
Ms. Avadzinu explained that the limited number of vehicles is putting immense pressure on emergency response teams, often forcing them to prioritize only the most critical cases.
“We are managing because, with the 42 ambulances, most are already on cases when new requests come in,” she said. “If the case is an inter-hospital referral and the patient can wait, we ask them to wait.”
She noted that dispatchers have to strategically hold back some ambulances to ensure availability for life-threatening emergencies such as road traffic accidents (RTAs) or sudden collapses.
“As we make the dispatch, we try to keep some ambulances in reserve for very severe emergencies,” she added.
To cope with the shortage, Ms. Avadzinu said dispatchers are in constant communication with ambulance stations to rotate vehicles as they become available.
