Ambulance Service: We Charge For Only Fuel SupportĀ 

The National Ambulance Service says they will liaise with relatives and hospitals for fuel from patients in non-emergency situations who require their service.

According to the Deputy Director in Charge of Operations, Mr. Foster Ansong-Bridjan, the money collected will help sustain the Ambulance Service.

In an interview with Peace News reporter Erica Eyifah, Mr. Ansong-Bridjan noted that, his outfit needs to sustain the service as such charges must be paid for the fueling of the vehicle for a particular non-emergency situation.

“With the Ambulance Service, we say that our services are free, as far as emergencies are concerned. The only time that we expect someone to pay for something is when you are in a hospital and you are being asked to go and do a diagnostic investigation.

“We have to sustain the service. It means that something must be paid for the fueling of the vehicle for that particular case. That doesn’t mean we are charging. But when really the person cannot afford, we will not insist that the person must, at all cost, pay,” he said.

He stressed that, if it happens that government gives support to all cases that the ambulance service carry out in the country then there will be no need for a patient to pay for the service of ambulance.

Commenting on maintenance, Mr. Ansong-Bridjan said the Ministry of Special Development Initiative, the National Ambulance Service and other stakeholders have to come to terms on service and maintenance agreement for the next five years on how they are going to ensure the ambulances are in good shape.

Ghana’s Ambulance Service has recently seen a boost with an investment of 307 new ambulances to be distributed across all constituencies in the country, with new health service officers recruited and trained to deliver primary emergency services.

Services of the ambulances are widely publicized as free but Mr. Ansong-Bridjan says some patients will be asked to pay to fuel the vehicle.

He also explained the use of ambulance and how people can contact them during emergency.