Assessing the Emergency Response Capacity and Resource Availability at the Primary Healthcare Facilities of Ahafo Ano North District, Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: Primary healthcare (PHC) facilities play a critical role in delivering emergency medical care, particularly in rural areas where they often serve as the first—and sometimes only—point of contact for individuals experiencing medical emergencies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), PHC facilities should be capable of stabilizing patients, administering life-saving interventions, and facilitating timely referrals when necessary. Emergency care involves the provision of prompt medical attention within minutes or hours to prevent death or serious harm. Objective: This study aimed to assess the capacity of rural primary healthcare facilities in the Ahafo Ano North District to respond effectively to emergency medical situations. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect quantitative data in the Ahafo Ano North District. A convenience sampling method was used to select 224 nursing professionals from a total population of 246. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27. Results: The ages of participants ranged from 18 to 45 years, with a mean age of 31.53 years. The study revealed significant gaps in the availability of essential emergency equipment, including automated external defibrillators (AEDs) (absent in 95.5% of facilities), stretchers (63% unavailable), oxygen (62.8% unavailable), suction devices (80.2% unavailable), first aid kits (70% unavailable), and blood products (93.7% unavailable). Regarding preparedness, 81.3% of respondents had not received formal emergency training. Additionally, 37.5% reported never practicing emergency skills, while 31.3% practiced occasionally and 25% rarely. Transportation and referral challenges were prevalent: 75.9% of respondents reported occasional delays in emergency transport, and 87.5% faced difficulties in referring patients to higher-level facilities. The other Key barriers identified were rated as follows: the lack of ambulance services was 1st (49.1), followed by long distances to referral hospitals (25%), and poor communication (13.4%) between facilities, and unspecified issues (12.5%) was the least among them.  Conclusion: The findings indicate significant systemic weaknesses in emergency preparedness and logistics within rural PHC settings. The study recommends targeted emergency training for nurses and midwives, development of standardized emergency response protocols, improved allocation of resources, and strengthened referral and communication systems to enhance emergency response capacity at the primary care level.