The National Ambulance Service (NAS) has completed the training of its comprehensive force of 6,000 Community Medical First Responders (CMFRs) nationwide, marking a major milestone in Ghana’s emergency healthcare system.
Addressing the third and final graduating cohort at the passing-out ceremony held at the Paramedic and Emergency Care Training School in Nkenkaasu, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of NAS, Dr. George Kojo Owusu, delivered a strong message to the new recruits.
Dr. Owusu emphasized that as the first point of contact in a medical crisis, the CMFRs must embody the highest values of the service.
“I urge all Community Medical First Responders to serve with integrity, discipline, and compassion. Let your work uphold the excellence of the National Ambulance Service,” Dr. Owusu charged the graduates.
The nationwide CMFR programme is a strategic partnership between the NAS and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA). Dr. Owusu expressed profound gratitude to the President of the Republic for the initiative, which he noted was driven by a commitment to both public health and youth empowerment.
The collaboration, spearheaded by YEA’s leadership, has successfully created 6,000 jobs and established a corps of skilled young Ghanaians equipped to handle emergencies.
The CMFR programme represents a paradigm shift in how emergency healthcare is delivered in Ghana.
The core goal is to ensure that “no Ghanaian life is lost for lack of timely medical intervention.”
By embedding these trained responders directly within communities, they become the critical first link in the life-saving chain. The CMFRs have received extensive training in:
• Basic Life Support
• Trauma Care
• Disaster Preparedness
• Community Health Interventions
Their presence ensures that professional paramedics are supported by prompt, skilled attention given right at the scene, dramatically improving patient outcomes across the country.
, Dr. George Kojo Owusu has charged Community Medical First Responders to serve with Integrity.){kind=link}