A Public Health Advocate and Country Director of the Aurum Institute Ghana – a not-for-profit organisation – Nana Kofi Quakyi, has cautioned that sanctioning health professionals over alleged misconduct will not address the deeper systemic challenges confronting Ghana’s healthcare delivery system.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, May 9, he said the recurring “no bed” situations in hospitals reflect a wider chain of failures across the health system rather than isolated incidents of professional negligence.
He explained that the interaction between patients and physicians during emergencies often exposes structural gaps in district and regional hospitals, including inadequate equipment, limited space, and resource constraints.
“All these things come to bear in that interaction between the patient and the physician when they are being told there’s no bed. All these things are what ‘no bed’ means,” he said.
According to him, while cases of professional misconduct should not be ignored, disciplinary action alone would not prevent future occurrences unless the underlying systemic challenges are addressed.
“I agree that we should be interested in cases where professional misconduct or professional failure is a primary cause. But when we are starting to think about how we prevent it from happening again, sanctioning those healthcare workers is not going to solve the problem of a cascade of failures at district and regional hospitals,” he added.
His comments come in the wake of investigations into the death of Charles Amissah, an engineer with Promasidor Ghana Limited, where a committee found that healthcare professionals breached their duty of care, leading to recommendations for disciplinary action across several institutions.
Among those cited, Dr Anne-Marie Kudowor has been recommended for referral to the Police Hospital and the Medical and Dental Council for alleged misconduct and for reportedly providing untruthful information during investigations.
Dr Nina Naomi Eyram Adotevi is also to be referred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the MDC, while Dr Ida Druant and Dr Genevieve Adjar have been recommended for disciplinary action at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the MDC.
The committee further proposed sanctions against nursing staff, including Miss Akosua B. Turkson and Miss Joy Daisy Nelson, who are to be referred to their respective institutions and the Nursing and Midwifery Council for disciplinary action over alleged breaches.
Charles Amissah: Doctors, Nurses face disciplinary action – Committee recommends
