Ghana’s emergency care machine is at a defining second. For years, the word “no mattress syndrome” has echoed around the nation, symbolising the disappointment of households who watch seriously in poor health sufferers being became clear of a couple of hospitals. But the deeper reality is that this: the disaster isn’t merely in regards to the choice of beds. It is ready how the machine purposes.

As an emergency doctor running at the frontlines, I’ve observed firsthand that “no mattress syndrome” isn’t a scarcity downside — this is a organization downside. It is a move downside. It is a methods downside.

And methods issues require fashionable, proactive, machine huge answers.

Ghana now has a transparent alternative to revamp emergency care thru sensible, reasonably priced, and globally aligned approaches.

The Real Issue: A System Under Strain, now not a Lack of Beds or Mattresses.

The public incessantly imagines “no mattress syndrome” as a bodily scarcity of beds. The root reasons are structural:

There are;

• No unified emergency triage machine
• No real-time visibility of mattress availability
• Slow inside affected person move
• Weak ambulance-hospital organization
• Lack of duty for emergency refusals

These gaps create delays, diversions, and preventable deaths — even if beds exist. Ending this disaster calls for a contemporary emergency care ecosystem, now not simply extra infrastructure.

A Modern, Proactive Framework for Ending “No Bed Syndrome”

1. National Emergency Triage & Stabilisation Standards

Every emergency affected person that experiences to a scientific facility in Ghana will have to be:

-I- Assessed instantly, -I- Stabilised, and

-I- Coordinated for switch if wanted, following established nationwide referral pathways. This will change the old-fashioned observe of refusing sufferers on the gate.

A unified triage machine, tailored from international easiest practices, guarantees that the sickest sufferers obtain pressing care directly.

• Real-Time Bed Visibility Across Hospitals

A contemporary well being machine can’t function on guesswork. Accra’s main hospitals must be digitally interconnected, permitting ambulance groups to grasp — in genuine time — the place capability exists.

Ghana wishes a easy, scalable bed-visibility machine that works in each virtual and low-resource settings.

This comprises:

• Structured guide reporting for amenities with restricted connectivity
• A virtual dashboard for greater hospitals
• Integration with ambulance dispatch

This unmarried reform gets rid of needless diversions and saves lives.

• Faster Internal Patient Flow

Beds are incessantly unavailable on the access issues of main hospitals as a result of sufferers live longer than essential because of sluggish processes.

Modern move reforms come with:

• Dedicated Bed Managers
• Early discharge making plans
• Short-stay/commentary devices
• Daily “move huddles” between ED and wards

These measures unencumber beds quicker and scale back emergency division congestion.

• Strong Ambulance-Hospital Coordination

Ambulances will have to now not roam from medical institution to medical institution. A contemporary machine calls for:

• Pre-arrival communique
• Acceptance-before-arrival laws
• Routing guided by way of real-time mattress visibility

This protects sufferers from unhealthy delays and guarantees ambulances ship sufferers to the correct facility the primary time.

• Data, Monitoring & Accountability

For the primary time, “no mattress” refusals will have to transform a reportable match. Hospitals must observe:

• Emergency refusals
• ED boarding time
• Bed occupancy
• Deaths in transit
• Ambulance diversions

Weekly dashboards and per 30 days evaluations create transparency and pressure growth.

A Smarter, Scalable, Ghana-Ready Solution This fashionable finance is:

• Low-cost
• Scalable throughout all areas
• Compatible with each virtual and low-resource amenities
• Aligned with international emergency care requirements

It does now not require large new constructions. It calls for organization, visibility, and machine design, together with steady tracking and analysis.

A New Era for Emergency Care in Ghana

If absolutely carried out national, our nation may just see:

• A dramatic aid in emergency refusals
• Faster remedy for seriously in poor health sufferers
• Improved ambulance potency
• Better use of current medical institution capability
• Fewer preventable deaths

Ending “no mattress syndrome” is not just conceivable — it’s achievable now, with the correct methods in position.

Is Ghana in a position for a contemporary emergency care machine? Ghana will have to make a decision — now — whether or not we can proceed to just accept preventable deaths as regimen, or whether or not we can construct an emergency care machine worthy of the folks it serves.

Thank you.

Dr Godfred Takyi, Consultant Emergency Physician, gbostone2004@gmail.com

About the Author

Dr Godfred Takyi is a frontline emergency doctor with in depth enjoy in acute care supply, emergency methods design, and medical institution move optimisation. His paintings spans medical management, well being methods strengthening, and the guidance of sensible, scalable answers for resource-limited settings.

He may be an academic useful resource author and recommend for evidence-based reforms in Ghana’s healthcare machine. His skilled pursuits come with trauma and damage prevention, emergency care investment, patient-flow engineering, virtual well being organization, and nationwide well being coverage transformation.

Dr Godfred is dedicated to construction a contemporary, environment friendly, and equitable emergency care machine that guarantees no Ghanaian is denied life-saving remedy because of preventable machine disasters.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by way of Readers and Contributors in this platform don’t essentially constitute the perspectives or coverage of Multimedia Group Limited.