A term now widely used to describe hospital overcrowding and delayed admissions was first coined by Dr. Joseph Bonney, an emergency medicine specialist at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, according to a review of available evidence.

Dr. Bonney introduced the term “No Bed Syndrome” in a 2017 paper published in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, providing what researchers say is the earliest documented use in academic literature.

Searches of scholarly work, media reports and grey literature show no prior reference to the term before that publication. A 2023 review also found no earlier usage, reinforcing his position as its originator.

The concept was drawn from conditions in the hospital’s emergency department, where limited bed capacity and delays in admission were affecting patient care. Data from Dr. Bonney and colleagues showed the department received about 90 patients daily, with demand peaking between morning and late evening hours. Admission and discharge patterns did not consistently match this demand.

Patients often waited for extended periods before admission, contributing to delays in care. Clinicians also reported increased workload and patient dissatisfaction, with some cases resulting in patients being turned away.

The study described the issue as a mismatch between demand for hospital beds and available capacity.

The term gained wider public attention in 2018 following a high-profile death linked to delayed hospital admission.

Since then, “No Bed Syndrome” has been used in media reports and policy discussions to describe constraints in hospital infrastructure, coordination and emergency care delivery.

Dr. Bonney holds qualifications including BSc Human Biology, MBChB, MPH, MSc in Disaster Medicine and membership of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. He trained through Ghana’s emergency medicine programme and is pursuing fellowships in adult emergency medicine and disaster preparedness.

He works as an emergency medicine specialist at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where he also leads research and innovation within the Emergency Medicine Directorate. He is the Clinical lead for the Global Health and Infectious Diseases Group (GHID) at the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR). He has held roles in regional and global emergency medicine bodies, including the African Federation for Emergency Medicine and the World Association of Emergency and Disaster Medicine.