Background The
health and
safety of people are often endangered during
emergencies and
disasters. Efficient
emergency management systems ensure that
mitigation,
preparedness, response, and recovery actions exist to preserve the
health,
safety, and welfare of the public. Failure to carry out appropriate responses can have adverse consequences for both
emergency responders and casualties; hence, the need for
emergency preparedness. This study sought to assess the
state of
emergency preparedness capacity of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of
Science and
Technology hospital in
Ghana.
Methods A facility-based
cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2018 and February 2019 using three guidelines developed respectively by the
World Health Organization, the Ministry of
Health-
Ghana, and the
Ghana Health Service. The
hospital's
emergency preparedness was assessed regarding the
emergency policies, plan, protocol,
equipment, and medications. Results Overall, the
hospital's
emergency preparedness level was weak (57.36%). Findings revealed that the
hospital had inadequate
emergency equipment, and
supplies for
emergency care delivery, especially during upsurge. It also did not have an
emergency planning committee. There were noticeable deficiencies in some
emergency resources such as
chest tubes, basic
airway supplies, and many
emergency drugs. Other vital
emergency tools such as
pulse oximeter,
thermometer, and
emergency medications were inadequate. The
hospital had a strong
emergency plan and
policies on assessment (77.8% and 78%) respectively. Conclusion The Kwame Nkrumah
University of
Science and
Technology hospital is not prepared sufficiently for an
emergency surge, and this poses a major
health challenge.
Emergency items must be made available, and the
organization and
planning of
emergency service provisions must be improved to avoid preventable deaths during an
emergency surge.