The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has proposed sweeping reforms to Ghana’s emergency healthcare system following an overcrowding incident at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Centre.

In a detailed statement issued March 24, the GMA outlined a series of immediate interventions aimed at preventing similar occurrences. Central to these is the call for a National Dashboard Tracking and Emergency Command Centre to coordinate bed availability, ambulance deployment, referral outcomes, and congestion metrics across the Greater Accra region.

The association further recommended the introduction of a digitized intra-hospital bed management system alongside a comprehensive surge plan.

It stressed the importance of timely clinical decision-making to facilitate the onward transfer of patients from the A&E centre to appropriate departments for definitive care.

Additionally, the GMA proposed strengthening nearby facilities such as Usher Hospital, Mamprobi Polyclinic, and Kaneshie Polyclinic with equipment, logistics, and teleconsultation capabilities to absorb spillovers during surges.

The association also called for a back-referral system that would allow stable patients to be transferred back to referring facilities or nearby health centres for continuity of care and follow-up.

The GMA stressed the need for an urgent inter-agency meeting involving the Ghana Health Service, CHAG, the National Health Insurance Authority, the National Ambulance Service, private providers, and professional health associations to find lasting solutions.

“In the long term, all district and regional hospitals must be resourced to safely manage more cases locally,” the association added, warning that under-resourced peripheral facilities continue to fuel avoidable referrals that overwhelm major hospitals.