The Upper East Regional Health Directorate has on Thursday deployed 24 customized motor-king tricycles to be used for transport of patients in need of emergency healthcare.
According to the Upper East Regional Director of Health, Dr. John Koko Awunor-Williams, the initiative is dubbed: Sustainable Emergency Referral Care (SERC) and is part of the operations of the Ghana Essential Health Intervention Program (GEHIP).
Mr. Awunor-Williams emphasized that the SERC initiative seeks to use community support and participation to tackle the challenges often involved in getting patients especially pregnant women who need emergency healthcare to health facilities in other to prevent death.
He further revealed that volunteers would be trained and some of them given mobile phones to support in communication.
“Volunteers will be trained and others given mobile phones to support in communication by health staffs but it is equally important to note that the service of the ambulance will be free for all pregnant women and children under five years” said Awunor-Williams.
Jack Ke, Production Manager for LK international, manufacturers of the motor-king tricycles disclosed that the vehicles were specially designed for the purpose of transporting patients, adding tha,t they are safe from the dangers that ordinary tricycles are known to pose.
The vehicles will be in use in a total of 12 sub-districts of the region and will serve a total population of one hundred and twenty-four thousand people.
From: Joshua Asaah | A1radioonline.com
