Health Ministry Disputes Bed Shortage Claims, Blames Poor Coordination for “No-Bed Syndrome”

The Ministry of Health has dismissed claims that Ghana’s hospitals are facing a nationwide shortage of beds, arguing that the main challenge lies in poor management and coordination of available facilities.

Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, said current statistics indicate that hospital beds across the country are operating at about 60 percent occupancy, meaning a significant number of beds remain unused at any given time.

She made the disclosure when she appeared before Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, where she explained that the issue is not simply the number of beds available but the absence of an effective system to track and allocate them efficiently.

“If we have more beds, why are we having no-bed syndrome? I believe the occupancy rate is 60 percent. So with 100 beds in a hospital, 60 of them are occupied and 40 are open. So now why does somebody come and have a no-bed syndrome?” she questioned.

According to the Deputy Minister, a centralised real-time bed monitoring system would help emergency responders identify hospitals with available spaces and direct patients accordingly.

She explained that such a system would provide information on specialised capacity, including intensive care unit (ICU) beds, maternity beds and orthopaedic beds, allowing ambulances and health personnel to make informed decisions before transporting patients.

“We believe that if we have a proper management system that tells you, for instance, in real time, Ridge Hospital has one ICU bed, two maternal beds and one orthopaedic bed, when the ambulance is coming, we can know where to take the patient,” she said.

Dr Ayensu-Danquah acknowledged that some patients continue to experience difficulties accessing beds but attributed the situation largely to gaps in communication and coordination between health facilities.

She maintained that available evidence suggests Ghana has hospital beds, but weaknesses in managing and sharing information about capacity contribute to cases where patients are reportedly denied admission.

The Ministry, she said, is focused on improving bed management systems to ensure available resources are better utilised and patients receive timely medical attention.

Yaw Opoku Amoako

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