The Greater Accra Regional Manager of the National Ambulance Service, Daniel Asare, has clarified that ambulances are meant to transport sick or injured persons, not the dead.
He explained that many people mistakenly call ambulance services to carry deceased individuals, creating confusion about their role. According to him, transporting the dead is the responsibility of hearses, not emergency medical teams.
“If we use ambulances to carry the dead, the public will lose trust in using the service,” he said.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Asare highlighted that the service operates two streams: emergency and non-emergency.
For genuine emergencies, ambulances are fully funded by the government through the National Petroleum Authority and Goil, so no fees are charged to patients.
For non-emergency cases, small fees are applied to support operations, but patients without funds are still transported.
He further raised concern over a surge in prank emergency calls, revealing that the service receives approximately 5,000 false alerts each month.
These unnecessary calls, he warned, strain resources and delay response to genuine emergencies.
Mr. Asare also called on the government to retool the service and provide more ambulances.
