Democracy and Development Fellow in Health at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, has urged a fundamental shift towards preventative measures and addressing underlying systemic issues.
Speaking during a national dialogue hosted by JoyNews on Thursday, April 2, Dr. Sarpong argued that expanding capacity in emergency rooms alone will not solve the crisis, as the country continues to grapple with overcrowded hospitals and a strained healthcare system.
Dr. Sarpong highlighted the nature of emergencies and why they occur. He explained that while some emergencies, such as accidents, may indeed be acts of God, unpredictable and unavoidable events, many others arise due to preventable factors, including human negligence.
“Emergencies don’t just happen; they happen because things didn’t go properly,” he stated. “For example, an accident could be an act of God, something beyond anyone’s control. But many other accidents happen due to negligence, whether on the part of the individual or another person.”
In addition to accidents, Dr. Sarpong pointed out that numerous health conditions, such as strokes, are also presented in emergency rooms.
While these events may sometimes be unavoidable, he emphasised that many could be mitigated with better public health interventions, earlier detection, and more comprehensive healthcare delivery.
A key focus of Dr. Sarpong’s remarks was the critical need to reduce the flow of patients into emergency rooms.
He argued that if the volume of patients continues to rise, even with expanded facilities, the pressure on health professionals will remain unmanageable.
“If we continue to talk about expanding capacity without addressing the flow of traffic into the emergency room, then the pressure on healthcare professionals in those facilities will not be alleviated,” he said.
He noted that a key issue in Ghana, where overcrowded emergency departments often result in what is commonly referred to as the “no bed syndrome”, where patients are turned away due to a lack of available space.
Dr. Sarpong described this situation as symptomatic of larger, systemic problems within the healthcare sector, rather than being an isolated issue.
“A syndrome is a combination of many factors,” he explained. “The ‘no bed syndrome’ is the result of several underlying conditions. If we don’t address these conditions and only treat the symptoms, we will continue to face the same issues repeatedly.”
He stressed that the healthcare system cannot simply focus on expanding infrastructure without first tackling the root causes of congestion in emergency departments.
For Dr. Sarpong, this means investing in preventive healthcare, improving public awareness of health risks, and strengthening early intervention strategies.
“The reality is that if we don’t manage the underlying conditions—whether they are related to road safety, public health education, or better disease management—we will continue to shout about the same problems,” Dr. Sarpong warned. “We have to stop treating the symptoms and instead focus on the causes.”
He urged government authorities and health professionals to adopt a more holistic approach to addressing the emergency care crisis.
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