Greater Accra Regional Manager of the National Ambulance Service, Daniel Asare, has raised concerns over the impact of false alerts on emergency response.

According to him, the Greater Accra branch of the National Ambulance Service records about 5,000 prank calls each month.

Ambulance Dispatch Centre records 200 prank calls in one hour

Speaking on Channel One TV on Friday, February 20, 2026, Asare said, “Prank calls normally happen when you raise a false alarm. There's no emergency, but you are calling that somebody is lying somewhere, so the ambulance service should come in. In a month, we can get about 5,000 prank calls at a dispatched center [in Greater Accra], where people will call and say, ‘Oh, I've eaten, I'm tired, come and pick me to the hospital’.”

He added that some pranksters even call to check whether the service is operational.

“Some even call and check whether we have come on duty… the line is a toll-free line, so when you call, there are no charges. Some people want to call and see whether our system is really working. So, it also affects our call,” he decried.

He added, “It also brings congestion, but as a service, there's a policy that we are not supposed to refuse any emergency. Anytime a call comes, you are supposed to pick it because you don't know who needs your attention, so we don't refuse any [call]. Just that sometimes the call volumes come on us, and sometimes you might call, and all the ambulances are on emergencies.”

Asare lamented that these prank calls strain operations and create delays for real emergencies.

He further disclosed that plans have been put in place to address the issue, including liaising with the Ghana Police Service and other relevant agencies to identify and hold perpetrators accountable.

“The prank calls really affect us… We want to advise the general public that they should only call when there's an emergency. We have made these issues known to the Ghana Police Service and other [agencies], so that there's that kind of collaboration to bring these perpetrators to book,” he revealed.

Asked how the service is able to identify calls that are pranks, he explained that some numbers call repeatedly within a short span.

National Ambulance Service bombarded with 4,800 prank calls daily

“Sometimes the number will call multiple times. They will call, and within a few minutes, they will call again… you can see just one particular number calling us several times. We have a book where we document all those calls inside. So the prank calls really affect us. The calls that come go through the National Signal Bureau at the National Security before it's routed to the Ambulance Service,” he said.



MAG/VPO

Watch as Dr Bawumia, Bola Ray pay tribute to late Alhaji Sidick: