𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗔𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗵 i𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 n𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 b𝗲𝗱 m𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 s𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 t𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 ‘𝗡𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲’

Story by: Regina Bless

The Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has inspected the National Command Centre for Bed and Referral Management at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital as part of efforts to tackle Ghana’s persistent ‘no bed syndrome’.

The system provides real-time information on bed availability across participating hospitals, enabling emergency teams to identify suitable facilities for patients before dispatching ambulances. It is also designed to improve referrals, reduce delays in emergency care and make better use of existing hospital beds.

During the visit, Mr Akandoh explained that the initiative would help address situations where hospitals turn away patients despite beds being available elsewhere. He said the system would also enable health authorities to monitor emergency patients who spend more than 24 hours on a bed and investigate the reasons for prolonged stays.

The Minister noted that the initiative forms part of broader efforts to expand emergency capacity at selected teaching and regional hospitals, including Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, 37 Military Hospital and Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The project lead for Bed Management, Dr Justine Osei, said more than 650 hospitals had been captured in the system, with over 5,000 beds mapped for monitoring and regular updates.

The pilot currently covers teaching hospitals, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the University of Ghana Medical Centre. It also tracks ambulance movements and helps match patients to facilities based on bed availability, medical needs and distance.

The pilot uses 10 ambulances in Greater Accra and another 10 in the Ashanti Region. The Ministry plans to extend the system to all regional hospitals before expanding to district-level facilities.