The National Ambulance Service; Greater Accra Emergency Medical Services division has officially launched its “Excellence Awards” under the theme “celebrating the Greater Accra Emergency Medical Technicians for a successful EMS delivery “
The maiden event which took place on 29th December, 2023 attended by dignitaries and the deputy minister responsible for health Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah was aimed at awarding medical technicians who contribute immensely to the successful delivery of Emergency Medical Services in the Greater Accra.
The categories ranged from Best Ambulance Station in the region, Best Ambulance Appliance to the Region, Best EMT Driver Basic Category, citations to senior staffs and sponsors among others.
Mr. Daniel Asare, Greater Accra Regional Administrator in an interview with GNG reporter, Mary Quartey explained that with National Ambulance service clocking 19 years, management of the region hence thought it wise to organise their maiden excellence awards to motivate their staffs.
“We thought it wise that dedicated staffs in the region should be awarded, since the COVID-19 pandemic up till date we have being save a lot of lives so we thought it wise that we should motivate them so that they will be able to do more”he said
He went on to announced that the awards has come to stay with a focus of a much bigger event in the coming years coupled with other regions emulating what the Greater Accra division has done.
“The award will stay for a very long time; periodically and not a one day show”he assured
However, he lamented that the National Ambulance service equally faces some challenges, among them is inadequate office accommodation for their personnel’s and regional secretariat.
He thus pleaded with government, stakeholders and the public at large to come to their aid to enable them get more offices.
“We are also pleading with the private sector to support government to get more ambulances to save as much life as possible”he called
Meanwhile,Mr. Asare cautioned the general public to endeavour to always respect their siren when there’s an emergency.
Additionally, he again cautioned them to desist from pranking the system, saying that a call should be made to them when there is an emergency but not to carry dead bodies.
About NAS
The National Ambulance Service (NAS) was established in the year 2004 as an agency of the Ministry of Health and a product of collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ghana National Fire Service of the Ministry of Interior.
As a statutory agency, NAS has been charged with specific roles and responsibilities of establishing and operating a nationwide comprehensive pre-hospital emergency care.
NAS has since its inception migrated from Seven (7) Stations in Three (3) Regions to a presence in every district of the country. The Service runs a two-tier Administrative system, the Head office and District Levels (operational level).
There is however a unitary coordinating staff at the regional level. The Head Office is the main Administrative harp of the service with its main function being to divulge Government policies and develop operational policies and protocol for the service.
By:Mary Quartey
