Korle-Bu emergency residents insist ‘floor treatment’ video reflects reality

Emergency Medicine Residents at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have pushed back against claims by management that recent viral footage of patients being treated on the floor is misleading, insisting the video accurately reflects conditions at the facility.

The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Yakubu Seidu Adam, had earlier suggested the footage was not representative of the emergency wards, despite persistent concerns about the “no-bed syndrome.”

In a statement dated March 23, the residents maintained that the video circulating online is genuine.

“The video footage is authentic. When the surge in patients exhausted all available beds, chairs were provided. When those chairs were also exhausted, patients had no option but to receive care on the floor,” they stated.

They described attempts to dismiss the footage as fabricated as “factually inaccurate” and disrespectful to both patients and healthcare workers.

The residents stressed that simply increasing the number of beds would not solve the crisis. According to them, the real challenges include:

• Lack of functional oxygen points


• Inadequate airway and monitoring equipment


• Limited space


• Shortage of medical personnel

They warned that adding beds without addressing these issues could worsen congestion in an already overstretched emergency unit.

The group argued that the situation at Korle-Bu reflects broader weaknesses in Ghana’s healthcare system rather than an isolated issue.

They cited:

• Poor referral systems


• Weak pre-hospital care coordination


• Absence of a national bed-tracking system

According to the residents, many patients are referred to tertiary hospitals like Korle-Bu in critical condition because lower-level facilities lack the capacity to treat them adequately.

“We do not call for more beds in hallways. We call for a strengthened national healthcare grid,” they emphasised.

The residents have urged hospital management and the Ministry of Health to move beyond public relations responses and implement comprehensive, system-wide reforms.

“The evidence is real. The crisis is real. And the response must be equally real,” they concluded.

Their statement adds to growing concern over pressure on emergency healthcare services in Ghana, with increasing calls for structural changes to improve patient care nationwide.