By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Jan. 26, GNA – The commissioning and
distribution of 307 Ambulances to all the 275 constituencies nationwide as part
of efforts to improve emergency healthcare delivery in Ghana would take place
on Tuesday, January 28.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information
Minister, who announced this at a news conference in Accra on Sunday, said the
digitised ICT system, tracking devices and labelling had been fixed on the
Ambulances and ready for distribution.
The Ghana Ambulance Service has signed a
five-year Service and Maintenance Agreement with the Suppliers to ensure
servicing and maintenance of the Ambulances.
Mr
Oppong Nkrumah said 450 Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) drivers out of the
575 who were cleared for recruitment had been trained.
The programme falls under the Ministry of
Special Development Initiative christened “One Constituency, One
Ambulance”.
This is in fulfilment of the government’s
pre-election promise in 2016 to boost emergency healthcare delivery in the
country.
Over 300 EMT Drivers and support staff and
30 Dispatchers will be posted to the 275 constituencies nationwide after the
commissioning, he added.
The Ambulances were procured under the
government Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) currently
being implemented by the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives.
The Minister said since the establishment of
the Ghana Ambulance Service with an initial investment by the Kufuor
Administration in 2004 with some 10 ambulances and seven stations, emergency
healthcare has in recent years grounded to a halt leaving the ambulance service
with some 55 ambulances currently functioning.
In line with pre-election commitments to
improve healthcare delivery, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Akufo-Addo-led
Administration had invested in the programme to boost and augment other efforts
at improving health delivery in Ghana.
In addition to the approximately 307
ambulances, clearance has been given for 575 EMTs to be recruited out of which
450 have been recruited.
The initial deployments of EMT staff are
drawn from this and previous staff. An additional 900 staff have received
clearance to be recruited.
He said Tuesday’s commissioning by the
President follows the completion of training of paramedics, fitting of tracking
devices and receipt of the full complement of ambulances.
He said it was a requirement that the
manufacturers through the Suppliers provide user training for the ambulances
and medical equipment onboard as well as tracking devices installed on the
ambulances.
He said training of 50 paramedic trainers
drawn from across the regions had also been completed successfully, while 300
Emergency Medical Technicians Drivers drawn from all the ambulance stations had
been given the necessary training.
More so, 30 Dispatchers had also benefitted
from a training on the tracking devices and dispatch operations systems.
“Immediately after the commissioning by
the President, the emergency vehicles would be dispatched to their respective
regions before they arrive at the constituencies.
“Government expects the Ambulance
Service to maintain this investment to ensure longevity.
“It is further expected that this
injection will be put to good use to serve the good people of Ghana and add to
ongoing efforts to secure livelihoods, “he added.
GNA