The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Bolgatanga East constituency in the Upper East Region, Silas Amoah Mathew, has presented a cash amount of Ghc 12,000 to the National Ambulance Service for the repair of a broken-down ambulance for the constituency.
The donation was made after a report carried out by A1 Radio Joshua Asaah highlighted the plight of the residents in quest of emergency health delivery after the ambulance had been out of service for several months due to mechanical issues.
At a brief ceremony held at the district’s office of the ambulance service, Silas Amoah Mathew said that even though the ambulance service had written a request letter for his support to repair the broken-down ambulance, he was compelled to take immediate action after the news story.
“About 2 months ago, a letter was written to me from the Ghana Ambulance Service requesting support to fix their damaged vehicle in the constituency. In about a week, I also saw a news report that went around regarding the issue with the ambulance. So, I said, our mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters can’t be suffering due to the broken-down ambulance. So, in our own little way, we decided to see how best we could help get the ambulance fixed. That is why we came to help them.”
The ambulance formed part of the 307 ambulances that were distributed in the year 2020 to all constituencies in Ghana under the government’s flagship program, ‘1 Constituency 1 Ambulance’. It was not saving the lives of the people of Bolgatanga East constituency, but also, Bolgatanga Municipal, Talensi, Nabdam, and Bongo districts any time the ambulances belonging to these surrounding districts broke down.
But effective May 4th, 2023, the people of Bolgatanga East District, without an option, started using all available means of transport, such as tricycles, to transport the sick to health centres due to the faulty ambulance as a result of damaged injectors.
“This ambulance saved my own brother some two years ago when he had an accident and the ambulance had to convey him to Tamale for head surgery. So, the importance of the ambulance has affected me directly. When you listen to what the journalist reported, you will realize that it is not proper for women in labour to be transported in a tricycle just because the ambulance is down”, Mr. Amoah added.
Even though the cost of replacing all four injectors in the ambulance, including installation, was budgeted at Ghc11, 200, the businessman supported the ambulance service with Ghc12, 000.
The young politician indicated that his support was to augment what the government is doing to improve the lives of the citizenry “but it isn’t that we have so much”.
Mr. Amoah also promised to supply the Bolgatanga East District office of the National Ambulance Service with computers to improve the prompt relay of information. Ali Awuni Baba, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Ambulance Service, expressed gratitude to Silas Amoah Mathew for his generous donation, saying the donation demonstrates the NPP parliamentary candidate’s commitment to improving healthcare services in the area and sets an example for other figures to follow.
“Let me ask everybody a simple question here. Do you think what this man has done means that he cannot get a vehicle to carry his patient to the hospital? That is not the issue. So, he has done it for the vulnerable in the district and the region. He has thought of that pregnant woman in labour, that accident victim who needs the services of the ambulance, and any other person who cannot afford but still will need professionals to get the person to the hospital”, he added.
Mr. Awuni assured the philanthropist that the funds would be used judiciously to repair the ambulance so it returns on the roads, serving the healthcare needs of the people in the Bolgatanga East constituency.
Mr. Awuni commended the Bolgatanga East District Assembly for previously procuring tires for the vehicle. He appealed to other individuals and organisations to support the service to fix other broken-down ambulances belonging to areas such as Bolgatanga, Talensi, Chiana-Paga, Builsa North, and Zebilla.
The Bolgatanga East District Station Officer of the National Ambulance Service, Boniface Ayamga, whose lobbying effort saw support for the service, commended A1 Radio for its role in bringing the issue to light and expressed hope that the repaired ambulance would help improve healthcare services in the Bolgatanga East constituency.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Zuarungu|Ghana
Editor's Note: This story has had to be republished after the website lost some of its data.
