Travellers to Ghana have urged the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and the government to strengthen the medical support system at the Kotoka International Airport to better cope with crises (KIA).
Last Friday, a middle-aged man died at the airport just moments after landing in the country from the United States.
"It's unfortunate that the airport lacks an adequate medical emergency response." This man's life may have been saved if he had received timely and effective assistance. "We landed on the same plane, and before we could finish the check-in procedure, he died, and there was no efficient support," a passenger stated.
"If the airport has an emergency unit, but there is no urgency linked to it, then there is a severe need for change." In an emergency crisis, every minute counts, especially in respiratory problems. "Unfortunately, for him, it did not happen," remarked another traveler.
"Despite the fact that there was an emergency with breathing difficulties, there was no first aid package on hand; there was no defibrillator or oxygen, and no medical personnel."
"The man was restless and was aided with a wheelchair, but he died within minutes."
"We continued yelling for help, and a medical assistant and a nurse showed up with nothing but a medical bag that didn't carry the needed emergency medical supplies," said another passenger.
GACL
The GACL's administration announced in a statement last Saturday that a middle-aged male passenger who had come from the United States had died.
According to the report, the dead landed at KIA in the presence of relatives aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington, DC's Dulles International Airport.
"The traveler was said to have complained of exhaustion and breathing difficulties. After that, the ground handler offered him a wheelchair.
"He passed out in the arrivals hall and was taken to the hospital, but he remained unresponsive. He was taken to the Airport Clinic for treatment, where he later died.
"In accordance with policy, the Airport Police Station was notified promptly," it stated.
Officials approached for more information declined to comment beyond the statement, stating that the police had been notified and that the GACL's emergency reaction to medical difficulties fulfilled the guidelines.
Family
Passengers who had disembarked on the same flight as the dead expressed amazement at the turn of events in the arrival hall, which was sombre and tearful.
"It happened in such a terrible and weird way." One passenger stated, "Life is truly the breath you have at every moment."
The shell-shocked family members who had traveled with the deceased had to be coaxed out of the arrival hall with their bags.