Ghana must establish dedicated emergency centres, not rely on hospital units - GRNMA President

Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), called for the establishment of dedicated emergency centres across the country on Thursday, April 2, at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Ghana's emergency care crisis. She warned that Ghana's current reliance on hospital-based units is inadequate to save lives. She stressed that the country must move beyond embedding emergency care within general hospitals, stating, "When we talk about emergency units…by this time, Ghana should have emergency centres, for emergencies only, not hospitals with emergency units."

Ofori-Ampofo noted that facilities such as Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital are often forced to overstretch their emergency units to accommodate patients. She argued that Ghana must establish fully equipped, standalone emergency and critical care centres across all regions. She also said, "So even with the units, we still have to strengthen them, but we must have emergency centres. We must also invest in the human resources that we have. The lack of trauma specialists and nurse specialists in emergency and critical care is something we must address, alongside infrastructure development and sustainable financing."

According to Ofori-Ampofo, the situation reflects deeper systemic challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of specialists, and weak investment in emergency healthcare over the years. She noted, "At this stage in 2026, if we had emergency and critical centres in all regions, it would have been a major plus for Ghana, but we don't have them." She warned that without urgent reforms, including the creation of fully equipped emergency centres and investment in critical care personnel, Ghana risks continued preventable deaths.