The Association for Transparent and Accountable Governance (ATAG) has called on President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to ensure immediate distribution of the 96 ambulances packed at the Parliament House in Accra.
They are demanding the immediate distribution of the ambulances by Tuesday, December 17, 2019 or resort to legally accepted means to mount pressure on the government.
According to ATAG the presidency has taken “too long to push [for the distribution] of the first consignment of ninety six (96) ambulances to save lives across the country”.
They added that, the lack of ambulances in certain municipalities has increased mortality rate as a result of delays in transporting women in labour and patients in critical situations to the various levels of care that needs emergency attention.
ATAG additionally described the state of health system in the Northern parts of Ghana as worsening , hence, necessitating the distribution of these ambulances among other required logistical improvement.
“Most of the constituencies in the five northern regions and possible other equally deprived constituencies across the country are without ambulances; especially the Sissala West constituency in the Upper West Region [which] has no single ambulance to take care of its emergencies.
“There is no community [within Sissala West] that is linked to the other with a bitumen road. Also, the Gwollu Health Center that was converted into a district hospital when the district was created some years back has seen no major development in terms of infrastructure and equipment to attain a true district hospital status, [hence emergency cases are referred to other hospitals depending on the nearness of the referral facility to the adjoining district hospital].
This tells you Mr. President the difficulties and the challenges the populace of the district is going through when it comes to accessing transport during emergencies.”
The group mentioned that the president should check his communicators defending the delay in distribution of the said ambulances with frivolous excuses.
“Your government communicators are defending the indefensible with uncoordinated and incoherent arguments ranging from fixing tracker devices on the ambulances, training of emergency medical personnel to man the ambulances, the ambulances lack their full complements, waiting to receiving the full set of the over 275ambulances before the ambulances are distributed. “
ATAG explained that “the early distribution of the ambulances will tell how serious we are as nation with our Public Health Emergency Response Systems; where some deaths that would have caused by delays in accessing health care services during emergencies as a result non-availability of transport are curtailed.”
They therefore entreated the government to listen to their plea and allow for the distribution of the ambulances immediately.
Source: Jonas Danquah || ghananewsonline.com.gh