Article By Barima Akwasi Amankwaah, US Based Ghanaian Phd Student.
Hospital Bed Shortages: Developmental Issue or Political Challenge?
Following the death of the 29 year of engineer named Charles Amissah who was struck by a hit and driver the nation Ghana has once again awaken to its duty as citizens with much more talkatives; citizens always blaming one another, especially politicians, and at the end of the day it becomes one of the topical issues for the week throughout the traditional media and social media as well. Hmmmmmm Charles Amissah may your soul rest in perfect peace till we meet again. However, listening to the discussions on TV, radio, parliament, social media I asked myself is hospital bed shortages a developmental issues or a political challenge? Your guess is as good as mine as I try to discuss it shortly in this piece of write-up.
First and foremost, Hospital bed shortages are widely recognized as a development issue because they reflect broader structural weaknesses within a country’s healthcare system. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2023) many low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana and mot Africa countries due to limited financial resources, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, rapid population growth, and insufficient long-term planning contribute to low hospital bed-to-population ratios. Development challenges such as poverty, rural-urban disparities, shortage of trained health professionals, and weak public investment in healthcare systems further worsen patient admission difficulties (World Bank, 2022). In such contexts, overcrowded hospitals and delayed admissions are often symptoms of deeper socioeconomic constraints. Therefore, hospital bed shortages can be viewed as indicators of overall development gaps in public health infrastructure, capital investment, and institutional capacity (WHO, 2023).
Countries facing the greatest challenges with hospital bed shortages and strained patient admission tend to fall into two broad groups: Low- and Middle-Income Countries. These countries often have very few hospital beds per person meaning hospitals can easily become overwhelmed, especially during surges in demand. In India for instances among the lowest hospital beds per 1000 people globally (~0.5), indicating very limited capacity relative to population size. Numerous hospitals report bed and staffing shortages as demand rises, especially in high-population states. In Mexico, where currently there is political tumors and one of the countries going to host the World cup matches around 1 bed per 1000 people, which is low by international standards, contributing to pressure on hospitals. Furthermore, in Indonesia among the bottom tier for beds per 1000 population, indicating widespread infrastructure challenges. Many countries in parts of sub-Saharan Africa have an average of fewer than 1 hospital bed per 1000 people and hospital occupancy often exceeds capacity, especially for acute care of which Ghana is no exception. Within the West Africa region Ghana is not doing bad at all however, like Oliver Twist, we can only add more to augment what we already have. There are many ways to resolve these not only by talking or our usual blame game or the media talkshop but real pragmatic actions such as the initiatives of the ambulance services, agenda 111, building of chip compounds with well trained staff among others. Like I have mentioned earlier these challenges are not peculiar to only underdeveloped or developing counties however some Upper-Middle and High-Income Countries with Capacity struggles as well. Even wealthier countries can face hospital bed and admission pressures not necessarily due to a lack of infrastructure, but because of high occupancy rates, staffing shortages, aging populations, and healthcare system design. In the United Kingdom National Health Insurance (NHS) hospitals operate with high occupancy and relatively low beds per 1000 people, contributing to long waits and delays. Sweden, Denmark and Finland within the Scandinavian have some of the lowest hospital bed ratios in Europe, and many saw large declines over time, which can strain patient admission capacity. Ireland reports indicate thousands of patients treated without assigned beds in recent months due to system overloads. Australia although relatively wealthy, backlogs in aged care have left thousands of patients “stuck” in hospital beds, reducing capacity for new admissions. These reports suggest that the challenges are not unique to Ghana or developing countries alone. Therefore, hospital bed shortages can be viewed as indicators of overall development gaps in public health infrastructure, capital investment and institutional capacity (OECD, 2021)
Hospital Bed Shortage as a Political Challenge
Hospital bed shortages are also a political challenge because healthcare funding and policy decisions are determined by governments. Budget allocations, national health insurance schemes, infrastructure expansion, and workforce recruitment strategies are shaped by political priorities (OECD, 2021). When hospitals operate beyond capacity, public dissatisfaction increases, often leading to political pressure, media scrutiny, and policy debates. During health crises such as pandemics or disease outbreaks, bed shortages become highly politicized, with governments being held accountable for preparedness and system resilience. Thus, hospital bed shortages are not only technical or economic problems but also governance issues linked to leadership, accountability, and policy implementation. During the Covid 19 pandemic years when there were shortages of bed, ICU centres among many others that makes a hospital or a clinic or a health centre function effectively and efficiently there was a way out collectively we all agreed that there was need to solve our own challenges identified within our health sector. Similarly, the death of Charles Amissah should be a clarion for action for politicians, policy makers, duty bearers, media houses and all comrades to come back to the drawing back. As a country we have done it before again and again and this is not the time to continue the blame game among politicians, create sensationalism within the media, create false stories on social media, continues reminding of the family of their lost however, let’s make the late Charles Amissah’s soul proud by changing our orientation to issues, our collective actions to crises and Selorm belief that we can make it as a nation irrespective of our challenges.
Conclusion
In conclusion, hospital bed shortages represent both a development issue and a political challenge. They reflect structural limitations in healthcare infrastructure and socio-economic development, while simultaneously highlighting the role of political decision-making in resource allocation and policy direction. Addressing this issue requires coordinated development planning and strong political commitment. May the soul of Charles Amissah and many others who lost their souls rest in peace and may we use this moment to bring the change that the poor and the vulnerable will always feel proud as a citizen. God bless our home land Ghana and make our nation great and strong……
Author’s Background:
The writer is Barima Akwasi Amankwaah–
A Development Practitioner and a PHD student at Binghamton University, New York, USA.
