The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has announced that the government has insured all ambulances under the National Ambulance Service and is taking steps to repair broken-down vehicles to improve emergency healthcare delivery across the country.
According to the minister, between 180 and 200 ambulances are currently operational, representing about 65 to 70 per cent of the national fleet.
He acknowledged that a significant number of ambulances remain off the road due to mechanical faults but assured Parliament that government is committed to restoring them to service.
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Speaking before Parliament’s Government Assurances Committee on Thursday, the minister revealed that one of the major challenges inherited by the government was that many ambulances were operating without insurance coverage.
According to him, this created financial difficulties whenever vehicles were involved in accidents or required major repairs.
“When I took office, all our ambulances were not insured,” he told the committee.
The Ministry of Health, he said, has since taken decisive action to insure the entire national ambulance fleet, ensuring that damaged vehicles can be repaired more efficiently without placing an excessive financial burden on the state.
Mr. Akandoh disclosed that the ministry is conducting a comprehensive assessment of every broken-down ambulance to determine the specific repairs required before returning them to service.
He noted that the government is also exploring ways to procure additional ambulances to strengthen emergency response nationwide.
“We are looking at how we can fix them and put them back on the road. We are also looking at how we can get more ambulances to add to the fleet,” he stated.
Mr. Akandoh said the Ministry of Health is preparing a detailed report on the condition of the country’s ambulance fleet.
The report, which will be submitted to Cabinet as an information paper, will outline the number of operational vehicles, those requiring repairs, and the resources needed to improve emergency medical services.
He appealed to Members of Parliament to support efforts to strengthen emergency healthcare delivery in their constituencies by working with the ministry to identify challenges affecting ambulance services.