The authorities of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has been urged to make public charges inherent in their operations in the county.
The NAS is one of the humane interventions rolled out by the erstwhile Nana Akufo-Addo-led government to address emergency service.
By this intervention, every Constituency owns an Ambulance, which makes the transfer of patients and accident victims, who need critical and urgent medical attention faster.
But the operation of NAS is allegedly shrouded in secrecy as the public does not know its fees and charges.
A beneficiary of NAS, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency on condition of strict anonymity for fear of victimisation said his son was referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra by a Doctor at the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) and an ambulance was arraigned for him last Wednesday.
He continued that the driver of the Ambulance demanded GHC1,100 for fuel, which he readily provided.
The man stated that on reaching a fuel filling station, the driver bought GHC700 worth of fuel and kept the rest of the money and the receipt but considering the condition of his son he did not question him.
He said on reaching their destination, he narrated what happened to a lady friend, he met there, who told him, she paid GHC1,500 before her mother was brought to Korle Bu.
Another lady, who also spoke to the GNA disclosed that her brother had an accident and was rushed to the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH), last week and the medical officer, who attended to him asked them to do a scan of the head.
She said the services of the Ambulance cost her GHC40 from the HTH to, where they did the scan, a distance of about 300 meters.
She noted that the driver told her the money was for fueling the vehicle.
The clients, who elicited the services of NAS demanded the authorities to come out publicly with their fees and charges from destination to destination.
They contended that without that, some drivers of NAS would exploit the vulnerability of those, who needed their service to enrich themselves.
Mr Amos Dzah, Public Relations Officer of Ho Teaching Hospital in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said by policy, NAS does not charge, “but what pertains sometimes is the demand for cost of fuel to destinations.”
GNA
MA/LAA
March 1, 2025
Pic attached
