Ambulance Service Unveils Captain Smart As Ambassador

Captain Smart in a group photograph with dignitaries after his induction

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Ambulance Service (NAS) have unveiled Blessed Godsbrain Smart an ambassador to champion a project aimed at acquiring support to enhance the emergency response capabilities of the service.

Dubbed 'Operation Save A Soul', the project is one of the several initiatives and innovations of the service to mobilise resources to complement the efforts of the government to improve the service.

The service which is noted for the key role it plays in Ghana's emergency response system lacks adequate fleet of ambulances, insufficient number of ambulance stations across the country and inadequate capacity building facilities.

Additionally, the only training school of the service, the Paramedic and Emergency Care Training School, located in Nkenkaasu in Ashanti Region, lacks adequate infrastructure and needs an upgrade and construction of require facilities.

Tina Gifty Mensah, a Deputy Minister of Health, speaking at the event, explained that the MoH was making all efforts to resource the NAS to enhance its emergency response capabilities.

She, however, indicated that the government is not able to meet all needs due to equally important competitive programmes, and called on stakeholders and other corporate organisations to support the service when they come knocking at their doors.

“As Ghanaians, it is incumbent on us all to get involved in improving our emergency response systems and capabilities. It is a collective responsibility,” she added.

The ambassador, popularly known as Captain Smart, expressed his gratitude to the MoH and the NAS for the recognition and confidence reposed in him.

Recounting his knowledge of the service as a journalist, Captain Smart described the progress of the service as steadily growing with various measures put in place notwithstanding their numerous challenges, as he has observed over the years.

“From a humble beginning of just seven stations across the nation, the service has expanded to cover a 103, from staff strength of 56, the service can now boast of over 1,600 personnel, including their training school and dispatch centre where all 193 calls are directed to,” he added.

Captain Smart pledged to play a key role in helping the service mobilise resources both in cash and kind in order to, among others, procure new ambulances, upgrade the NAS emergency dispatch centre, procure medical equipment and training materials to improve quality of care.

 By Abigail Owiredu-Boateng