He said although the government was doing its best in the provision of emergency healthcare services, more needed to be done in that aspect.

Dr Orleans-Lindsay made the call at the 30th convocation of All Nations University (ANU) at Koforidua last weekend.

The event, with the theme "The impact of emergency services on Ghana's healthcare delivery”, witnessed the passing-out of 418 graduands from the university.  

Of the number, 361 graduated in various disciplines while the remaining 57 were awarded postgraduate certificates.

Dr Orleans-Lindsay, who is also a member of the board of governors of the university, said it has been estimated that strengthening emergency healthcare systems could address 54 to 90 per cent of deaths and 900 million to 2.5 billion disabilities in low and middle-income countries.

Dr Orleans-Lindsay explained that under such circumstances, there was the need to make sufficient logistics available, as well as educating and training human resources to save lives.

Looking back on Ghana's disasters, the Executive Chairman said the country had had its fair share of disasters of varying magnitudes, and cited the Accra Sports Stadium disaster which led to the deaths of 130 persons, as well as gas explosions in various parts of the country some years ago.

Emergency response

The government, Dr Orleans-Lindsay said, had improved the country's emergency response system in 2001, resulting in the establishment of the National Ambulance Services (NAS) and the streamlining of the health system in 2004.

He indicated that five years after the introduction of the NAS, it was followed by the training of doctors and nurses in emergency medicine through the Ghana Emergency Medicine Collaboration (GEMC) among the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the University of Michigan.

Dr Orleans-Lindsay indicated that the recent major intervention by the state to improve emergency healthcare services delivery by procuring and distributing 307 ambulances to various parts of the country and using drones to deliver medical supplies had demonstrated modern innovations in advancing emergency healthcare delivery in Ghana.

Policy attention

He said despite such efforts, emergency medical services did not appear to have received adequate policy attention from governments since independence.

Dr Orleans-Lindsay called for enhanced preparedness and coordination, as well as timely response to health emergencies, stressing that it would help reduce mortality and morbidity.

For his part, the President of the ANU, Dr Samuel Donkor, said the university had chalked another first by receiving accreditation to offer a four-year bachelor's degree in Emergency Medicine Technology (EMT).

Such a degree programme, Dr Donkor, stated was a medical speciality focused on diagnosing, treating and managing acute illnesses and injuries requiring immediate medical attention.