Dr Richard Selormey, General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), has urged urgent reforms in Ghana’s emergency healthcare system, saying persistent gaps in coordination and capacity, not just bed shortages, are driving the country’s recurrent no-bed syndrome.
Speaking on the Joy Super Morning Show on Tuesday, Dr Selormey described the response network as “disjointed,” noting the absence of centralised tracking of bed availability and weak hospital‑ambulance coordination.
“There’s no centralised point where we can know how many beds are available … any capacity system that can tell us this,” he said, highlighting systemic flaws that undermine timely emergency care.
He also pointed to breakdowns in referral procedures where patients moved from one facility to another are often not expected or prepared for at receiving hospitals, compounding delays in treatment.
Dr Selormey’s comments come amid renewed national concern over the no-bed syndrome — a term used in health circles and public discourse to describe cases where patients are turned away from hospitals citing lack of beds, often with tragic outcomes.
The issue has been thrust into the spotlight following the reported death of 29‑year‑old engineer Charles Amissah, who allegedly died after being moved between three major hospitals in Accra without being admitted because of claimed bed unavailability.
Health sector stakeholders and policymakers have pointed to deeper structural problems underpinning the phenomenon.
Former Health Minister Bernard Okoe Boye recently said the crisis is driven more by systemic inefficiencies — such as poor patient flow management and under‑resourced emergency wards — than by simple bed count alone.
In Parliament, calls have grown for stronger accountability and legal remedies for families who lose loved ones due to alleged refusal of care.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com