The Deputy Minister for Health and Member of Parliament for Essikadu-Ketan, Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has criticised persistent failures in Ghana’s emergency healthcare system, describing delays and refusal of care as unacceptable and life-threatening.
Speaking at a JoyNews national dialogue on emergency care on April 2, Dr Ayensu-Danquah said such incidents are not isolated but point to deeper systemic challenges within the country’s healthcare framework.
“This is not the first time something like this has happened in Ghana. The issue has many tentacles,” she said, referencing a recent hit-and-run case.
She explained that emergency care operates in three key stages, with pre-hospital care being the most critical in determining survival outcomes.
“I usually break it into three categories. The first is pre-hospital care, and it is even more important than hospital care itself,” she noted, highlighting the importance of the “golden hour” — the first 60 minutes after a traumatic injury.
According to her, decisions made within this period are often the difference between life and death, yet critical lapses frequently occur at this stage.
She pointed to challenges in communication, ambulance response times, and staffing capacity as major weaknesses.
“It starts with communication. How quickly is the information relayed? How soon does the ambulance arrive? Who is in the ambulance?” she asked, adding that the level of training among emergency personnel—whether basic, intermediate, or advanced—also plays a crucial role.
Dr Ayensu-Danquah also condemned practices at some health facilities where patients are turned away during emergencies.
“There should be no reason why a patient is refused. No matter how they arrive—even on a bicycle or aboboyaa—they must be attended to,” she stressed.
“If a patient is bleeding to death and is not attended to, that is unacceptable in medicine,” she added.
She emphasised that emergency care must function as a seamless system, from the point of incident through to hospital treatment, without breakdowns at any stage.
“There should be no situation where a patient in critical condition is turned away. Emergency care must function effectively from the scene through to definitive care at the hospital,” she said.
