The Ghana National Ambulance Service (GNAS) is alarmed by the rampant abuse of the emergency sirens by some motorists, particularly hearse operators and individuals who employ the services of motorcade for easy movements within traffic jams.
The Service is distraught about the challenges the siren misuse is posing in the discharge of their duties as some motorists tend to refuse them road access during emergency situations.
Speaking on Luv FM, Ashanti Regional Manager of the Ambulance Service, Paemt Sommik Duut Miilon raised concerns about the growing challenge EMS teams face in navigating traffic.
He cited the common practice of hearse operators abusing sirens, which contribute to delays in response time, despite not being medical emergencies.
“On Fridays and Saturdays, you see the hearse operators on the roads. There’s no emergency for dead bodies, so those people need to be arrested by police and prosecuted,” he said.
Mr. Duut Miilon urged road users to give way swiftly, stressing that delays often occur due to the traffic congestion caused by unauthorized use of the sirens.
He called for enforcement, urging authorities to militate against the misuse of sirens and prioritize the free passage of legitimate emergency vehicles.
While the standard international response time for medical emergencies is approximately 8 minutes with some places achieving as low as 5 minutes, the Ashanti Region’s average currently stands at 17 minutes.
This, Mr. Duut clarified, is not due to a lack of ambulances or their non-readiness, but largely because some patients’ request transfers between hospitals and prank calls.
“Ghana’s EMS professionals are equipped and ready, but they can only save lives if the public stops misusing emergency lines and starts responding responsibly. Prank calls aren’t just annoying they’re deadly distractions,” he noted.
Mr. Duut highlighted the sheer number of prank calls flooding their dispatch center daily with at least 200 calls from individuals who phone in to make unnecessary demands.
The worrying situation often thwarts the service from offering the needed help to genuine calls.
“We have the 112 which is the emergency line for Ghana, but we can get over 200 to 300 pranked calls, the line doesn’t rest. These aren’t harmless jokes. They range from insults to nonsensical requests like airtime, all of which choke the lifeline meant for real emergencies,” he said.