The government has completed a nationwide audit of hospital bed capacity and begun tagging each bed with barcodes as part of plans to establish a National Emergency Command Centre to coordinate emergency response services.

The Board Chairman of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Titus Kofi Beyuo, disclosed this in a radio interview on Joy FM on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, describing the move as a major step towards improving emergency care delivery.

He explained that the exercise is intended to address a longstanding challenge in the ambulance system, where responders often lack real-time information on hospital capacity.

“We have taken a physical count of every bed in every teaching hospital in Ghana, in every regional hospital in Ghana,” Prof. Beyuo said. “In the next few days, we will be attaching barcodes to all these beds.”

According to him, the barcoding system will feed into a centralised digital dashboard at the proposed command centre, enabling operators to monitor bed availability across facilities in real time. The system will capture various categories, including emergency beds, stroke beds, intensive care unit beds, oxygen-connected beds, monitor-connected beds and adjustable beds suited to different patient needs.

He added that the National Ambulance Service will relocate its existing 112 call centre to the new facility, integrating dispatch operations with live hospital capacity data.

“The ambulance service will relocate their call centre to this National Command Centre,” he said, noting that medical doctors will also be stationed at the centre to conduct remote triage and guide ambulance teams before patients are transported.

Prof. Beyuo said the system will further provide ambulance crews with estimated travel times and direct them to facilities where patients stand a better chance of survival.

His remarks come amid renewed public concern over congestion at the emergency department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, following a widely circulated video showing patients lying on the floor.

The Chairman of the Korle Bu Doctors Association and consultant surgeon, Dr Asare Offei, confirmed during the same interview that the situation remains a daily reality due to overwhelming patient numbers.

“On a daily basis what we experience is overload, full capacity,” Dr. Offei said. “Some are too weak to sit in a chair; they will lie on the floor and be given the best care possible.”

He described the situation as longstanding, saying it had only gained wider attention after the video surfaced. “This is an age-old problem,” he said, urging stakeholders to focus on solutions rather than blame.

Dr Offei also highlighted the legal and occupational risks faced by health workers operating under such conditions.

“In case I’m being called to answer why I cared for a patient this way, the law will not say I’m sacrificing,” he said, warning that repeated bending and squatting to treat patients on the floor could result in long-term spinal injuries for clinicians.

Prof. Beyuo indicated that hospital policy requires all patients to be triaged before any decision is taken, even if this contributes to congestion.

“Every patient should be triaged first for us to know their chance of survival,” he said, adding that management is working with clinicians to manage periodic surges in patient numbers.

He disclosed that about 200 additional beds have been procured, with 50 already installed during a recent visit by the Minister of Health on March 21, 2026.

Prof. Beyuo also cited a recent case involving an emergency physician who died after being unable to access specialised cardiac care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, highlighting gaps in critical health infrastructure. Gov't begins nationwide hospital bed tracking

“He couldn’t make it,” Prof. Beyuo said, explaining that the incident has informed plans to establish cardiac catheterisation laboratories at Komfo Anokye and the Tamale Teaching Hospital, in addition to the existing facility at Korle Bu.

On ambulance services, both Prof. Beyuo and Dr Offei acknowledged that the current fleet remains inadequate for an effective emergency response system.

Dr Offei noted that some patients are transported without basic interventions. “Sometimes no infusion on you, which can even save your life within a short time,” he said.

Prof. Beyuo described the prevailing approach as “scoop and run”, warning that it could compromise patient outcomes. He called for specialised ambulances capable of performing basic procedures en route, alongside enhanced training for Emergency Medical Technicians.

He said the Minister of Health had set a two-to-three-month timeline, following the ministry’s annual retreat earlier this year, for the command centre to begin operations. However, he cautioned that full implementation would take time due to the scale of the project, including training more than 7,000 staff at Korle Bu and equipping over 200 ambulances nationwide.

“The situation is dire, and you can’t fix that overnight,” he said.

Dr Offei welcomed the initiative but stressed that its success would depend on sustained political commitment. “All the difference is political will,” he said, noting that similar proposals have been discussed for years.