Ambulance service receives over 1 million prank calls – Communication Minister

The Ministry of Communication says it will block the phone numbers of prank callers as the number of such calls to the National Ambulance Service reaches almost 1.9 million.

“From 27th March 2020, all prank callers will be blocked to get Ghana’s emergency system to work effectively. It is the most practical way of ensuring that those in need of help, get it,” a statement issued by the ministry said.

Data from the NAS call centre shows that  1,887,125  calls made to the centre were pranked ones.

Only 15,801 actual cases have come to the centre. This means over 99.16% of the calls were just for fun.

Ambulance service: Over 60K prank calls drown emergency calls

Reacting to the trend,  the Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has indicated that the ministry would take drastic measures against the perpetrators.

Read the full statement below.

In February, the NAS said just nine days after it opened its call centre; it was kept busy with more prank calls than real emergency calls to save lives.

Data from the centre revealed that over 60,000 prank calls were recorded during the period.

Only 133 actual cases have come to the centre.

The figures meant only 0.2% of calls to the centre is a  call to duty.

Ambulance service: Over 60K prank calls drown emergency calls