Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has set up a command centre at Ridge Hospital to track emergency bed availability in real time across selected hospitals. The initiative, which began as a pilot this month, aims to address the persistent shortage of emergency beds by monitoring their use electronically.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, Akandoh described how the system gives him direct visibility from his office. “I have a screen in my office, so that if Kolebu says there’s no bed, I’m able to see how many beds are available, how many patients are in the emergency,” he said. The screen is physically located in his office, and the minister invited journalists to visit the command centre for a demonstration.
The pilot covers several regional and teaching hospitals, including Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye. It tracks not only bed availability but also the duration patients occupy emergency beds. “With Korle-bu, I’ll be able to know how many beds are occupied in the emergency, how many days you have spent on that bed,” Akandoh said. The system flags cases where a patient remains in an emergency bed beyond 24 hours, allowing the command centre to investigate why the bed is still occupied.
Beds in participating hospitals have been fitted with barcodes to support the tracking system. Each facility has designated commanders responsible for updating data continuously. Ambulance services have also been integrated into the system. “The ambulance people are also on board; when they pick up the patient, they go to the system. They’re able to know we have to send the patient here,” Akandoh said.
The minister emphasised the technology does not create new beds but ensures more efficient use of existing ones. “This system will not necessarily add more beds, but it will help us to manage the scarce resources, so that one patient will not be on one bed at emergency for more hours or another.”
Physical expansion of emergency facilities is underway at Komfo Anokye, Tamale, Korle Bu, and the 37 Military Hospital. At Korle Bu, the emergency unit currently has about 67 beds, despite the hospital having over 1,000 beds in total. A 400-bed emergency facility is under construction as part of a wider redevelopment project. “The contractor is on site as I speak to you now. So we call it a hospital within a hospital,” Akandoh said.
The government has restored more than 200 ambulances to service and plans to add 100 new vehicles in 2027. “We are going to replenish the fleet in 2027. We are going to add 100 brand-new vehicles,” the minister confirmed.
The pilot system is the first step in a broader plan to improve emergency care management. Akandoh’s command centre offers an unprecedented level of oversight, giving health officials the tools to question inefficiencies and better allocate existing beds.
According to Joy Online.
