The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has directed that disciplinary action be taken against several health professionals following the submission of a three-member committee report on Charles Amissah’s death.
Charles Amissah, a 29-year-old engineer with Promasidor Ghana Limited, died after a hit-and-run in Accra and was allegedly denied hospital care due to lack of beds, leading to his death in transit and sparking public outrage.
The committee, chaired by Agyeman Badu Akosa, in its investigations found serious lapses in emergency response, citing inadequate training of ambulance personnel and poor professional judgment by some health workers.
Several doctors and nurses at the Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital were named for failing to provide care at critical moments.
Among those cited were Dr Anne Marie Kuduwa, Dr Nina Naomi Adotevi, Dr Ida Drunt, and Dr Genevieve Ajah, along with nurses Ms B. Turkson, Ms Joy Daisy Nelson, and Ms Salamatu Alhassan Adu, for failing to provide care at critical moments.
The committee concluded the death was avoidable and recommended disciplinary action through the relevant regulatory bodies.
Speaking after receiving the findings of a committee on Wednesday, May 6, the Minister confirmed that the full report will be made public and its recommendations implemented without delay.
Mr Mintah Akandoh instructed the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health to formally write to relevant institutions and regulators for disciplinary action against specific health professionals cited in the report.
“As the professor stated, the most important aspect is for us to be able to avoid the avoidable deaths we have witnessed. And therefore, without wasting much time, I want to accordingly direct my chief director, the chief director of the Ministry of Health, to write to the following people, the following health professionals, and their hospitals, and their regulators, that disciplinary actions be taken against them,” he said.
The health professions cited in the report are to be referred to their respective Medical and Dental Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council for disciplinary processes.
The Minister noted that some facilities had already begun internal disciplinary procedures and urged them to expedite action.
He emphasised that regulators must also act swiftly in line with their mandates as part of broader reforms in emergency healthcare delivery.
