The Director of the Medical Training and Simulation Centre at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), Dr Christian Owoo, has called for urgent reforms in Ghana’s emergency and critical care system to improve the management of critically ill patients across the country.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the launch of Critical Care Awareness Month and the celebration of ICU nurses at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital under the theme “Beyond the Bedside: Courage, Care and Compassion,” Dr Owoo stressed the need to extend critical care services beyond Intensive Care Units (ICUs) to general wards and primary healthcare facilities.

According to Dr Owoo, patients who are critically ill or experiencing emergencies exist throughout the healthcare system, making it necessary for healthcare workers at all levels to be equipped to provide essential emergency and critical care.

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“It is important, as I mentioned during my keynote address, to emphasise the fact that patients who have emergencies or who are critically ill span the continuum of our health system. ICU nurses and critical care nurses are brilliant in what they do, and anybody who has been admitted to the ICU will testify to the level of monitoring and specialised care provided to patients,” he said.

Dr Owoo, however, lamented the inadequate number of ICU beds in Ghana, describing it as a major challenge confronting the healthcare system.

“Unfortunately, not every patient can get into the ICU. This is due not only to capacity challenges but also to limited resources, especially human resource capacity. As the representative of the Deputy Minister of Health indicated earlier, Ghana currently has between 140 and 150 active ICU beds nationwide."

Dr Owoo also welcomed the introduction of free primary healthcare in Ghana and expressed optimism about integrating Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC) into the country’s healthcare structure.

He explained that proper implementation of EECC could potentially save at least one million lives globally each year, especially in low-and middle-income countries.

“I am very excited about the introduction of free primary healthcare, and I have already informed the Director of Technical Coordination that our team is ready to engage on how Essential Emergency and Critical Care can be integrated into the system."

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Dr Owoo concluded by commending ICU nurses for their dedication and sacrifices in caring for critically ill patients.

“As we celebrate ICU nurses and the advocacy work they continue to do, we must also recognise that these efforts can significantly support the integration of emergency, critical, and operative care in Ghana,” he concluded.

The event was attended by several key stakeholders in the health sector, including Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health; Faustina Excel Adipa, Principal of the PON/CCN School; Dr Anita Ohenewaa Yawson; and other health professionals.



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