Lack of ambulance and emergency services hamper healthcare coverage in Krachi East

Access to healthcare in the Krachi East Municipality is being hampered by lack of Ambulance Services.

Residents say the issue is affecting the transport of patients referred to hospitals for further treatments.

The Municipal’s share of the “One Constituency, One Ambulance,” initiative, had been non-functional for some time now due to mechanical faults.

Mr Bright Kofi Mensah, the Municipal Director, Ambulance Services in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the sensor of the ambulance had developed a fault and was sent to Accra for maintenance and other servicing and was yet to return.

Mr Mensah said all keys of the ambulances procured under the Initiative were decoded hence after undergoing any maintenance works, a coded certificate needed to be obtained before the ambulance gets back to work, attributing the delays to these phenomena.

He said the authorities were working around the clock to enable them to retrieve the code to the tracking devices on the ambulance to help start its operations.

A visit by GNA to the ambulance station revealed its uninhabitable nature, which has become a haven for reptiles and grazing fields for cattle.

The station’s current state is also negatively impacting the staff and management and services rendered.

Madam Paulina Abena Agyeiwa, resident of the area said in the absence of an ambulance, some private transport operators had taken advantage of the situation to charge exorbitant fares.

She said they however had no options but to opt for the fares charged to referral centers such as WoraWora Government Hospital, Medical Village at Nkwanta South and Krachi West for emergency treatment.

GNA