The Emergency Response and First Aid post located on the Accra – Tema motorway is in a bad state. The emergency post had no ambulance at the time of Joy News’ visit on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

Apart from that, the main entrance was under lock and key. Also, there were no paramedics or security personnel on-site at the time of Joy News’ visit.

Peeping through the shattered windows, medical supplies, tables, chairs and mattresses were all scattered in the room with rodents feeding on the debris. The structure itself without electricity and running water was in a deplorable state with the foundation and ceiling giving way.

Established in 2012 by the GHANA RED CROSS SOCIETY, the emergency post formed part of a pilot project that was to be replicated across major accident-prone highways in the country. Its goal was to run a 24-hour emergency facility manned by paramedics with an ambulance to provide emergency medical attention to road crash victims mainly on the Accra Tema motorway.

Even though road crashes on the Accra-Tema motorway remain rampant, the first aid post is rather closed depriving accident victims on the motorway of the ‘golden hour’ medical attention.

The call for well-equipped and functional First-Aid posts on the country’s highways has heightened following rampant road crashes in recent times.

On Monday, May 29, 2023, 17 lives were lost on the Cape Coast - Accra Highway following a head-on collision between a commercial bus and a fuel tanker.

Also, provisional crash statistics from the National Road Safety Authority, NRSA, revealed that between January to December 2022, a total of 2,373 persons died resulting from over 14, 959 crashes across the country.

Even though the National Road Safety Authority launched an ambitious plan in 2019 to establish 100 emergency response and first aid posts along major highways to address post-crash victim needs, the question is, in what state are the few posts across the country?