55 ‘functioning’ ambulances are even substandard – Health professional

Only 55 out of 155 ambulances are functioning nationwide according to the report

A health professional has called into question the quality of Ghana’s 55 functioning ambulances which serve the entire 29 million population.

He made the comment on the back of a report on the death of a pregnant woman and her baby due to the lack of oxygen in an ambulance.

A data report by citinewsroom.com indicates that of the woefully inadequate 155 ambulances in the country, only 55 are operational across the country as 100 have broken down.

The situation paints a gloomy picture of the country’s emergency health service response system, which can be blamed for some of the deaths recorded in the country.

Dr. Yakubu Akparibo, who is Ghana’s first and only Aerospace Medicine Specialist said the death of a patient in an ambulance due to the lack of oxygen indicates that the supposed functioning ambulances are substandard.

“The vehicles that we see that we call ambulances, do they meet the standards. If there is a vehicle that meets the standard of an ambulance, how come during transport, it will run out of oxygen? That is impossible.”

He expressed regret that military aircrafts are not used as emergency air ambulances, but are rather used them to carry dead bodies of relatives at a fee of up to GH¢10,000.