Government introduces digital bed management system to improve emergency referrals
President John Dramani Mahama has announced the piloting of a digital bed management and referral coordination system to help hospitals and ambulance teams identify health facilities with the capacity to receive emergency patients and coordinate their transfer.
The Integrated Bed Management and Referral Coordination System (IBMRC), being implemented through the Ministry of Health, is expected to improve communication among participating health facilities and reduce delays in locating hospitals capable of providing the treatment patients require.
President Mahama announced this at the 68th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), where he outlined government’s interventions to address the persistent no-bed syndrome.
He said the system was designed to provide hospitals and ambulance teams with information on available capacity across participating facilities, allowing emergency patients to be directed to appropriate destinations.
“Through the Ministry of Health, we have piloted the Integrated Bed Management and Referral Coordination System (IBMRC),” he stated.
The pilot programme involves Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, the 37 Military Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the National Ambulance Service.
According to the President, the system will help healthcare providers identify facilities capable of receiving patients and coordinate their transfer instead of leaving emergency teams to search for available beds without adequate information.
“The system is intended to help hospitals and ambulance teams identify facilities with the capacity to receive patients and coordinate their transfer,” he said.
He, however, stressed that the effectiveness of the system would depend on the accuracy of the information provided by participating hospitals, noting that available bed information must reflect the actual clinical capacity of each facility.
President Mahama explained that improved referral arrangements must also be accompanied by adequate receiving capacity to ensure that patients transferred to other hospitals could receive the required treatment.
He cited the situation at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which has a functional bed capacity of 1,500 but only 65 beds in its Accident and Emergency Department, as an example of the pressure facing major referral facilities.
He said government was therefore targeting an expansion of emergency bed capacity to at least 10 per cent of each facility’s functional bed capacity.
At Korle Bu, he said, this would mean increasing the existing emergency beds from 65 to at least 150.
Work is expected to begin next year on the expansion of Accident and Emergency Centres at Korle Bu, Komfo Anokye, Tamale Teaching Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital.
The President said the expansion would be supported with the necessary medical personnel, equipment, oxygen and essential supplies to make the additional capacity operational.
He further explained that the digital system would complement government’s directive that every patient arriving at a health facility in critical condition must be assessed and assisted within the facility’s capacity.
Where definitive treatment was unavailable, he said, the hospital must provide stabilisation before coordinating a safe transfer to another facility.
“With the new digital system, we will also be able to identify facilities with available beds so that patients can be directed appropriately,” he added.
President Mahama said families must receive clear information and guidance throughout the referral process and should not be left to navigate a fragmented healthcare system on their own.
He said the system, together with the planned expansion of emergency facilities, would form part of government’s wider effort to improve emergency response and ensure that patients received timely and appropriate care.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
