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The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) is rolling out a medical outreach programme to deploy medical doctors to some health facilities to help address the “no bed” syndrome that has hit hospitals in the country.

As part of that move, the hospital is arranging to procure standby ambulances and shuttles that will transport patients to the health facilities for prompt attention.

The Chairman of the reconstituted board of the KBTH, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, who announced this at the inauguration of the board in Accra yesterday, July 13, 2018, said arrangements had also been made to deploy trained medical protocol officers to facilitate healthcare delivery in the new paradigm.

“About 20 of these protocol officers will be trained over a two-week period to help provide vital information to patients. They will have key information on the doctors, nurses, number of beds that are available at any point in time. If the patients have to be transported to any other health facility, the protocol officers will assist in doing that,” he said.

Background

A 70-year-old man, Prince Anthony Opoku Acheampong, reportedly died in his car at the LEKMA Hospital in Accra, after seven hospitals turned him away over claims that there were no beds.

Acheampong was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Printhony Printing Press in Adabraka, a suburb of Accra.

His death sparked a public outcry about emergency response in the country’s healthcare system.

Following that unfortunate incident, the Ministry of Health directed hospitals not to turn away patients on the grounds that there were no beds.

The KBTH, which is the country’s premier medical referral centre, has been hard hit with this challenges with beds such that some patients who went there to access health care were asked to buy chairs to sit on.

Board members urged

At the inauguration of the 11-member board for the hospital, the Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, urged the members of the board to lead a process to address the ‘’no bed’’ syndrome the next six months.

“In the next six months, innovative strategies will have to be put in place for the KBTH to look different so the members of this board must shelve individual egos and get their act together and collaborate with other stakeholders to get the needed results,” he said.