Greater Accra: Ambulance shortage forces dispatchers to prioritise only critical cases

Joyce Avadzinu is the Head of Dispatch at the Ghana National Ambulance Service. She reported a severe shortage of ambulances in the Greater Accra Region. This shortage is affecting timely emergency responses.

In an interview with Citi FM, Ms. Avadzinu shared that only 42 ambulances are operational in the region. This limitation forces the service to ration ambulance deployment. Dispatchers reserve vehicles for life-threatening emergencies only.

“We manage with 42 ambulances,” she said. “Most are out on calls when new requests come in.” For non-urgent inter-hospital transfers, they ask patients to wait.

Ms. Avadzinu emphasized that they hold back some ambulances for serious cases. These include road traffic accidents and sudden collapses.

She explained that constant coordination is needed among ambulance stations. Dispatchers track vehicles in use and adjust deployments as needed.

“Whenever we dispatch an ambulance, we alert other stations to be ready,” she added. Once a vehicle returns, it can be redeployed quickly. “It’s far from ideal, but we do our best with limited resources.”