Ebola Preparedness of Health Facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Abstract

The recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa exposed many fundamental weaknesses in the healthcare delivery system in affected countries, principally the poor disease surveillance, preparedness and outbreak response mechanisms. The cross-border importation of disease cases prompted many countries to strengthen their internal capacities to prevent or contain possible outbreaks. However, the existing EVD response measures seem inadequate in some high-risk countries. Here, we evaluate the preparedness of health facilities in Greater Accra, Ghana’s second most populated region, for a possible EVD outbreak, and identify issues of policy and public health relevance. The study followed a cross-sectional pattern involving 64 health facilities (32 government-owned and 32 privately owned) in eight districts. Data were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to hospital administrators and analyzed qualitatively. Four hospitals in two metropolitan areas were considered adequately resourced to admit EVD patients and had protocols for managing disease cases with surveillance and logistical supplies available. Twenty-one other facilities comprising 17 hospitals, 2 polyclinics and 2 health centres were prepared to attend to initial EVD cases before referring suspected cases to the four adequately resourced hospitals. The remaining 39 health facilities had no capacity for EVD management. Generally, health facilities within the Greater Accra Region were inadequately prepared to handle initial EVD cases.