50 Ambulances arrive; 90 more expected

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) has taken delivery of 45 new ambulances out of the 275 expected to be procured by the government.

A second batch of 90 have also been dispatched to Ghana from Turkey where they are being manufactured.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NAS, Professor Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah, made this known in Accra during a special training workshop organised for key operatives of the service.

The NAS, in partnership with the Kansas University Medical Centre from the USA, organised the three-day training workshop for its facilitators from the Paramedic and Emergency Care Training School (PECTS) at Nkenkaasu in the Ashanti Region.

The training was also attended by some emergency medical physicians and some selected doctors and nurses at the headquarters of the NAS.

At the closing ceremony of the exercise in Accra, Prof. Zakariah, described the workshop “as timely and crucial as the service was about to take delivery of new state-of-the-art ambulances”.

He said the training was, therefore, to equip the staff to be more efficient and effective in their operations.

Participants

The participants, numbering 50, comprised Senior Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (SAEMT’s), Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT’s), paramedics and nurses.

They were trained in airway skills, emergency medical services (EMS) operations, respiratory distress, fracture treatment, EMS field sedition and other disciplines by a seven-member medical team from the Kansas University Medical Centre.

Each of the participants was given certificates of participation at the end of the programme.

Appreciation

Prof. Zakariah commended the participants for their efforts in delivering emergency medical services in the country.

“The Ministry of Health and the government recognise the vital role you are playing in the pre-hospital sector of the country by saving lives, even in these difficult times of NAS where you are lacking logistics such as ambulances to deliver your work to Ghanaians,” he stated.

He thanked the team from the Kansas University Medical Centre for their support.

Prof. Zakariah charged the participants to put into practice and share the knowledge and skills acquired during the workshop with their junior colleagues to help them save lives in the pre-hospital sector.

Facilitators

The team from the Kansas University Medical Centre, led by Prof. Dennis Allin, pledged their commitment to help the NAS in delivering quality emergency health care.

Prof. Allin, on behalf of the team, thanked the CEO of NAS and the participants for their hospitality and cooperation during the workshop.