Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah
“The ‘One Constituency, One Ambulance’ gives immediate response within your locality. For example, this one was swift because there was an ambulance station at circle so it would have been them to respond but if it was from afar it would have taken long to respond.”
This statement from Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah is in response to a recent incident at circle, opposite the GRA new building in Accra.
On November 17, 2023 around 5:37pm, there was a head-on collision between two mini-buses (trotro) at circle, opposite the new Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) office.
Within a space of two minutes, hawkers and pedestrians had assembled at the scene for a first-hand account. They also saw the victims in serious pain and grasping for air in the midst of the mammoth crowd.
Due to the timely intervention of the Korle Klottey Constituency ambulance service team, those victims were timely attended to and administered with emergency treatment before been rushed to the hospital for intensive treatment.
The swift and professional intervention of the ambulance services personals affirms to the earlier responds of Prof. Zakariah, that it is as a result of the ‘One Constituency, One Ambulance’ initiative by government which has enhanced the administration of emergency healthcare services. It is also attributed to the frequent capacity training programmes organised for emergency medical technicians.
The question of efficiency of Ghana’s ambulance systems has been one of the popular discussions in the public domain and in various media outlets. You most often come across this popular statement, “National Ambulance Services has not been of good services to the country.”
Such statement in my opinion destabilises the progress and activities of the service especially when what it does is work tirelessly in mobilising resources to providing robust medical services to victims.
Meanwhile some individuals with some level of influence in the media space will make comments against the Service just to please their superior without giving the due credits to the many good services they render across the country.
Just as I taught I had seen it all, ‘X’ formerly (Twitter) has this to say about National Ambulance Services, “The ambulance service in Ghana is a mess. An accident happened and we’ve been calling all the emergency services but no answer, smh”
“Ghana dierh if you get money you can do anything o, people are dying because there are no ambulances to convey them to hospitals for treatment but this minister’s son casually has an ambulance following him around. Ei Ghana!”
The above were comments from some individuals, who according to them see the ambulance service as a non-functional institution in the country.
Also, recent among them is the wild allegations which suggest that some ambulances under the ‘One Constituency One Ambulance’ initiative have been assembled in Dubai for sales, which were quickly debunked by the authorities.
Meanwhile, the National Ambulance Services (NAS) since its establishment in 2004 has provided prompt medical care to patients, ensuring that victims receive immediate attention and care but has not received any acknowledgement for it works.
To the many who due to no fault of theirs may have lost counts of the numerous interventions undertaken by the National Ambulance Service, this write up is to highlight some flagship initiatives executed by the Service under the able leadership of the Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah.
Capacity Training
As Ghana struggles to establish it emergency medical response system, the National Ambulance Service (NAS) in an effort to help government establish a robust emergency health delivery system, has collaborated with the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services, to train some defense civilian staff, and civilians in anatomy and physiology, mass casualty incidence and basic life support, and medico-legal related issues, among others, to acquire skills for efficient and immediate care for sick or injured people in an emergency.
The Military Emergency Medical Technicians, which is the first of its kind, has enrolled its fourth batch of participants who will undergo a 12-month intensive training in hospital attachment, and ambulance station before their final assessment and passing out.
This is to equip and provide continuing medical care in the absence of readily available physicians, including care for diseases and battle injuries.
“This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between the health system in the hospital and the pre-hospital system as a robust emergency medical system which increases accessibility,” Prof. Zakariah made this known during the opening ceremony of fourth batch of the MEMTs.
Also, the Ghana Health Service collaborated with the National Ambulance Service in the Upper East Region, with funding support from the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation (ADDRO), to train the Emergency Medical Technician (EMTs) on the care of newborn babies and mothers’ Helping Baby Breathe (HBB).
This training was to help reduce the number of death of new born babies upon arrival at the hospitals. The country annually records a total of 70 reported death cases among babies.
In the spirit of ensuring majority of new born babies survive, Professor Anthony Kovac of Kansas Medical Centre, USA supplied some 150 Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) mannequins to the National Ambulance Service (NAS).
The donation exercise, worth over $20,000, is an initiative by the American Academy of Pediatrics, aimed to empower Ghanaian Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) with a specific focus on newborn resuscitation to combat birth asphyxia, a leading cause of neonatal death.
The mannequins, will be used to train EMTs across the 16 local NAS regional districts on simple, evidence-based life-saving techniques, such as tactile stimulation and nasal aspiration, to advance emergency practices.
Aside the initiative, NAS frequently organises a refresher course for the EMTs in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Instructor Training to gain in-depth knowledge in the management of Cardiac related cases.
It also engages and trains school going children and the public on Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Choking Management and Blood Control techniques.
NAS is a noble profession that needs the necessary support from the masses to support the country’s drive in achieving the universal health coverage of making healthcare free and accessible to all.
Congratulations to Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah for receiving the Most Outstanding Public Sector CEO of the Year at the 5th Edition of the Northern Excellence Awards (NExA).
This is evident of your hard work in building a robust emergency service within the ambulance service, Ayekooo!!!
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke
