The Ministry of Health (MoH) has rejected claims of a widespread shortage of hospital beds across the country, insisting that available data shows bed occupancy levels remain below full capacity.
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, said hospital bed occupancy currently stands at about 60 percent, indicating that many beds remain available across health facilities.
She made the remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, where she argued that the challenge is not necessarily a shortage of beds but the lack of an efficient bed management system to coordinate available capacity.
Dr. Ayensu-Danquah explained that real-time information on available beds across hospitals would enable emergency teams to direct patients to facilities with the appropriate capacity.
“If we have more beds, why are we having no-bed syndrome? I believe the occupancy rate is 60%. So with 100 beds in a hospital, 60 of them are occupied; 40 are open. So now why does somebody come and have a no-bed syndrome?” she questioned.
She said a coordinated system that tracks available beds, including specialised units such as intensive care, maternity and orthopaedic wards, would help address delays in admitting patients.
“We believe that if we have a proper management system that tells you that, for instance, in real time, Ridge Hospital has one ICU bed, two maternal beds and one orthopaedic bed, when the ambulance is coming, we can know where to take the patient,” she said.
The Deputy Minister maintained that the evidence available to the Ministry shows that beds exist in health facilities, but weaknesses in coordination and information sharing contribute to situations where patients are turned away.
She stressed that improving hospital bed management would be key to ensuring patients receive timely care and reducing complaints of unavailable beds
