Gov’t to repurpose Burma Camp facility to tackle ‘No Bed’ syndrome-Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to repurpose the Emergency Centre at Burma Camp into a dedicated facility for handling critical cases, as part of efforts to address Ghana’s persistent “no bed” syndrome.
Speaking on the growing challenge of accessing emergency care during the inspection of ongoing project of La General Hospital, President Mahama acknowledged that many patients struggle to find hospitals willing or able to admit them during urgent situations.
“In the meantime, we are discussing with the Minister to see how we can sort out the issue of emergency hospital beds. When people have an accident or suffer a medical incident—most of the time at night—finding a place for them to be treated has been difficult,” he said.
President Mahama explained that the Burma Camp Emergency Centre, originally established during the COVID-19 pandemic, will now be repurposed to focus solely on emergency cases.
“We’re going to repurpose it so that it has beds for handling only emergencies. If there’s an emergency and a person is not accepted at any of these hospitals, the Emergency Centre in Burma Camp will be there. Emergency nurses and doctors will be available to stabilize the patient,” he stated.
He added that once patients are stabilized, they will be transferred to appropriate hospitals for further treatment.
“Once the patient is stabilized, then we can move them to a regular hospital,” he noted.
The President emphasized that the move forms part of broader government efforts to prevent avoidable deaths caused by delays in emergency care.
“The Ministry is taking action to prevent needless deaths due to the ‘no bed’ syndrome,” he said.
He further revealed that the initiative aligns with ongoing reforms in the health sector, including the recent launch of the government’s primary healthcare programme aimed at strengthening service delivery nationwide.
