The National Ambulance Service (NAS) Greater Accra Regional Office has reported that it receives about 5,000 fake warnings each month, raising concerns about an increase in spoof emergency calls.
The scenario is putting a lot of strain on operations, according to Daniel Asare, the Service's Greater Accra Regional Manager, who spoke on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Friday, February 20. According to him, the volume of hoax calls clogs the dispatch center and delays prompt answers to real situations. He emphasized, however, that the Service is required by policy to answer all calls.
Typically, prank calls occur when a false alarm is set off. You are contacting that even if there isn't an emergency since someone is lying somewhere and the ambulance service ought to arrive. We can receive over 5,000 hoax calls at the dispatch center in a month," he stated.
Mr. Asare added that some people abuse the emergency line by making improper or non-essential demands. "Oh, I've eaten, and I'm exhausted. Please come and take me to the hospital," some people will call.Some even give us a call to see if we've reported for duty," he said. He made a plea to the public to use the emergency lines sensibly and to avoid abusing them."Whenever we have a platform this credible, we want to remind the public that they should only call in an emergency," he continued.