Ghana must establish dedicated emergency centres, not rely on hospital units – GRNMA President

President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, has called for the establishment of dedicated emergency centres across the country, warning that Ghana’s current reliance on hospital-based units is inadequate to save lives.

Speaking at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Ghana’s emergency care crisis on Thursday, April 2, she stressed that the country must move beyond embedding emergency care within general hospitals.

“When we talk about emergency units…by this time, Ghana should have emergency centres, for emergencies only, not hospitals with emergency units,” she said.

“So even with the units, we still have to strengthen them, but we must have emergency centres. We must also invest in the human resources that we have. The lack of trauma specialists and nurse specialists in emergency and critical care is something we must address, alongside infrastructure development and sustainable financing.”

She pointed to limited capacity in key hospitals, noting that facilities such as Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and others are often forced to overstretch their emergency units to accommodate patients.

She argued that Ghana must move beyond embedding emergency care within general hospitals and instead establish fully equipped, standalone emergency and critical care centres across all regions.

“At this stage in 2026, if we had emergency and critical centres in all regions, it would have been a major plus for Ghana, but we don’t have them,” she noted.

According to her, the situation reflects deeper systemic challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of specialists, and weak investment in emergency healthcare over the years.

She warned that without urgent reforms, including the creation of fully equipped emergency centres and investment in critical care personnel, Ghana risks continued preventable deaths.

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