Ghana's hospitals do not suffer from a lack of beds. The real problem is the ineffective sorting of patients upon arrival at emergency rooms. This 'triage' failure prevents timely care for the most critical cases.
When ambulances arrive at well-run emergency units, patients are quickly assessed. A nurse uses a scoring system based on vital signs. This system determines if a patient needs immediate life-saving care or can be sent to another facility. The current system in Ghana often fails this first crucial step. This leads to overcrowding with patients who do not require emergency treatment.
This issue contributes to a larger challenge in Ghana's public health system. Residents often bypass local clinics and district hospitals. They go directly to large teaching hospitals like Korle-Bu. This happens because smaller facilities may lack doctors or essential medicines. This behaviour, though rational, overloads major hospitals. It diverts resources and staff from real emergencies.
Experts suggest a solution involving financial incentives. They propose reducing payments for non-emergency visits to teaching hospitals. Simultaneously, payments for such visits at lower-level facilities should triple. This would encourage patients to use primary care first. Actuaries at the Ministry of Health can verify the significant financial impact of this. Patients, clinicians, and resources will naturally follow these financial shifts.
The implications are clear. Without a functional triage system, even new beds will not solve the problem. The death of young Charles Amissah highlights this critical failure. His case involved being turned away from three hospitals in three hours. This was not due to a lack of beds, but a failure to properly assess and admit patients in the first place. Fixing the 'front door' of emergency care is the priority.