Ghana’s emergency healthcare system is nearing a tipping point, the Ghana Medical Association has warned, citing chronic infrastructure gaps, staffing shortages and weak coordination as key drivers of recurring crises.

The warning follows recent congestion at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where the main emergency unit became overwhelmed, prompting a temporary suspension of new admissions.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday (5 June), GMA Deputy General Secretary Dan Anane-Frimpong said the situation reflects systemic weaknesses rather than an isolated incident.

“This is not unique to Komfo Anokye. Across the country, emergency units are stretched beyond capacity,” he said.

He noted that many district hospitals operate with emergency units of just three to ten beds, forcing major referral centres to absorb excessive patient loads from multiple regions.

Komfo Anokye, Ghana’s second-largest hospital, receives referrals from across the Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, Western North and parts of Eastern and Central regions, placing enormous strain on its resources.

To address the problem, the GMA is calling for urgent structural reforms, including the establishment of a national emergency command centre with a real-time digital bed management system.

Such a system, Anane-Frimpong said, would allow ambulance services and referral networks to identify facilities with available capacity, reducing delays and preventing overcrowding at major hospitals.

“Currently, ambulances often move from one hospital to another looking for space, which delays care and puts lives at risk,” he said.

The association also highlighted a critical shortage of specialised personnel, including emergency physicians, critical care nurses and anaesthetists.

Most specialists, he said, are concentrated in a handful of major hospitals, leaving lower-level facilities ill-equipped to handle complex emergencies.

Combined with rising emigration of health professionals, the shortages are contributing to burnout among those remaining.

“Our staff are already exhausted. Burnout is not a future risk — it is happening now,” Anane-Frimpong said.

He urged government to scale up training, expand emergency infrastructure and fast-track the operationalisation of new regional hospitals to ease pressure on existing facilities.

“We need investment at every level of the system — from district hospitals to tertiary centres — if we are to prevent future crises,” he said.