The Ghana Health Service has data that indicates there were 875 maternal deaths overall in 2018 and 838 in 2019. The number declined to 776 in 2020. At the same time, the institutional maternal death ratio fell from 117 in 2019 to 106 in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and all of its effects.
What is Maternal Mortality?
The number of women who pass away during pregnancy and childbirth is known as maternal mortality. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), named the major causes of maternal mortality as severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy, anaemia, complications from delivery, and unsafe abortions. Other causes of maternal deaths include lack of essential medical care during childbirth or financial restraints to access health care.
This has been the ordeal of a family: a husband and his 30 – year old pregnant wife who was also a nursing mother who has miserably lost her life due to her husband’s inability to pay an amount of GHS600 for an ambulance service. The amount mentioned was expected to be used to buy fuel for the journey. The deceased was being transferred from the Holy Child Clinic at Fijai, to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment.
The Chief Executive of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has acknowledged that the officers demanded GH 600 from the husband of a pregnant woman before consenting to transport the patient. Due to the service officers’ delay, the patient, a 30-year-old nursing mother passed away in transit.
“Fuel Support”
Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakaria, speaking before an ad hoc committee assembled by Parliament to investigate the matter, defended the GH600 charge. He claims that it is common practice. He pointed out that despite the fact that their services are meant to be provided without charge, a lack of resources has forced them to charge customers for fuel.
He further explained that the officers were informed that so, it was believed that the patient’s husband would offer that assistance. They left the hospital knowing that they would choose the husband who would offer the fuel support, he continued. As they prepared to pick up the patient’s spouse, they learned that he was short on cash for fuel.
The CEO cited this development as the reason for the delay. Meanwhile, the husband of the deceased recounted that he had earlier given the officers GHS50 for fuel but one of them mentioned that they had to return to Fijai. Upon getting to Fijai, there was an argument between the officials and the hospital and his wife was left helpless the whole time.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan committee constituted by Parliament to investigate the case has attributed the death of the pregnant woman, to the negligence of the National Ambulance Service crew. However, Prof Zakaria insisted that ambulances are fueled mainly for road traffic accidents but when it comes to inter-hospital transfers, an amount is requested as “fuel support”.
This current state of our health service is very shameful and heart-wrenching. How many more lives are to be lost as a result of the negligence of others? Why should the dying patients be asked to pay monies to cater for the fuel cost of health service delivery? Is the National Ambulance Service (NAS) now operating like the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) which moves to fire accident scenes without water in their tanks? The conduct of the ambulance service is extremely embarrassing!
The Way Forward
Health care services such as the ambulance service must be free and accessible to all. The government must equip these health delivery services with the necessary resources to help save lives, especially in emergency situations.
Families of patients must not be burdened with such extra costs as fuel costs. Meanwhile, necessary action should be taken against all who contributed to her demise.