Ghana’s ability to respond effectively to medical emergencies has come under scrutiny, with the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, sounding the alarm over a critical shortage of trained paramedics and systemic weaknesses in pre-hospital care.
Speaking during a JoyNews dialogue on emergency care on Thursday, 2nd April 2026, the Essikado-Ketan Member of Parliament painted a troubling picture of a healthcare system struggling to manage trauma cases, particularly during the crucial early moments after injury.
She was concerned that a paltry number of paramedics serving the entire country of nearly 31 million population.
“We don’t have a lot of paramedics. I think we have only about eight paramedics in the whole country, so that’s also a huge issue. Then, once the ambulance gets to the patient, or the staff in the ambulance gets to the patient, what do they do? Are they able to really stop bleeding, meaning patching the wound and stopping the bleeding, or are they just putting bandages, plaster, or gauze on it?” she quizzed.
Critical First Hour Often Lost
Dr Ayensu-Danquah stressed that survival in trauma situations is heavily dependent on what happens within the first hour—often referred to in medical practice as the “golden hour.”
“There are certain things that should happen in the first hour. In trauma, we usually break it into three parts. The first 20 to 30 minutes is the most important time, and those decisions will influence what happens at the end. So, the ambulance picks the patient up, [and] what do they do?
“Elsewhere, you see people even having defibrillators to shock the person’s heart on site, before they even put the person in the ambulance. Then you bring the person into the ambulance, and certain things should happen within the ambulance from where the patient is picked up to where they are dropped off,” she said.
Her remarks highlight a stark contrast between Ghana’s emergency care capacity and international best practices, where paramedics are highly trained to deliver advanced life support even before patients reach hospital facilities.
‘Scoop and Run’ System Under Fire
The Deputy Minister also pointed to Ghana’s heavy reliance on a basic emergency response approach known as “scoop and run,” which prioritises rapid transport to hospital over on-site stabilisation.
“Here in Ghana, what we do is called a scoop and run. So, you scoop, you stabilise to the best of your ability depending on the ambulance staff, and then you run to the hospital,” she explained.
While the method is intended to save time, she indicated that its effectiveness is limited when ambulance personnel lack the advanced skills and equipment necessary to stabilise critically injured patients en route.
Her comments come amid growing public concern about emergency healthcare delivery, particularly following recent high-profile incidents that have exposed delays in trauma care and gaps in coordination between ambulance services and hospitals.
Health experts say the shortage of paramedics—who are specifically trained to administer life-saving interventions such as airway management, bleeding control, and cardiac support—places enormous pressure on existing ambulance staff and reduces survival chances for accident victims.
The situation is further compounded by uneven distribution of emergency resources, limited equipment in some ambulances, and the absence of a fully integrated trauma care network.
Call for Urgent Reforms
Dr Ayensu-Danquah’s remarks underscore the urgent need for investment in emergency medical training, expansion of paramedic programmes, and modernisation of ambulance services across the country.
With road traffic accidents and other trauma cases on the rise, healthcare stakeholders warn that strengthening pre-hospital care could significantly reduce preventable deaths.
Her intervention adds to a growing call for reforms aimed at ensuring that emergency response systems are not only fast—but also medically effective at the point where it matters most: the scene of the incident and during transport to hospital.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com