The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has inspected the National Command Centre for Bed and Referral Management at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital as part of efforts to address Ghana’s persistent ‘no bed syndrome’.
The system provides real-time information on bed availability across participating hospitals, allowing emergency teams to identify suitable facilities for patients before dispatching ambulances.
It is designed to improve referrals, reduce delays in emergency care and ensure better utilisation of existing hospital beds.
During the visit, Mr Akandoh said the initiative would help address situations where hospitals turn away patients despite beds being available at other facilities.
He added that the system would enable health authorities to monitor emergency patients who spend more than 24 hours on a bed and investigate the reasons for the prolonged stays.
The project lead for Bed Management, Dr Justine Osei, said more than 650 hospitals had been captured in the system, with over 5,000 beds mapped for monitoring and regular updates.
The pilot currently covers teaching hospitals, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the University of Ghana Medical Centre. It also tracks ambulance movements and matches patients to facilities based on bed availability, medical needs and distance.
The pilot operates with 10 ambulances in Greater Accra and another 10 in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Akandoh said the initiative formed part of broader efforts to expand emergency capacity at selected teaching and regional hospitals, including Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, 37 Military Hospital and Tamale Teaching Hospital.
The Ministry of Health plans to extend the system to all regional hospitals before expanding it to district-level facilities.
