The Chairman of the Ghana Medical and Dental Council, Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa, has stressed that emergency triaging is mandatory under Ghana’s healthcare policy, insisting that hospitals cannot turn away patients without first assessing and stabilising them.
According to him, the persistent reliance on the excuse of “no bed” in emergency situations risks creating a dangerous culture where critically ill patients are denied potentially life-saving interventions.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, May 20, Prof. Akosa who also chaired Chairman the committee that investigated the death of Charles Amissah said triaging remains a fundamental requirement in emergency healthcare delivery.
“Absolutely. In any case even the A&E policy of the Ministry of Health says that every emergency must be triaged. You cannot send the patient away without triaging,” he stated.
He further criticised the growing tendency of some health facilities to use bed shortages as justification for failing to intervene in emergency cases.
“That is why if you blame bed it becomes a norm so once there is no bed you are not prepared to do anything that will save a life,” Prof. Akosa added.
His comments come in the wake of the committee’s findings into the death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah, who died after reportedly being denied immediate treatment at multiple hospitals following a motorcycle accident in February 2026.
The committee, set up by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, concluded that Amissah died from severe blood loss after suffering deep injuries to his upper arm during the accident at the Circle Overhead Bridge.
According to the report, Amissah was transported to the Police Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and later the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, but did not receive timely stabilisation despite arriving alive at all three facilities.
The report found that the absence of immediate triaging and emergency intervention contributed significantly to his death.
It also highlighted broader systemic challenges within Ghana’s emergency healthcare system, including weak coordination between hospitals, inadequate pre-hospital care and pressure on hospital bed capacity.
Among its recommendations, the committee proposed compulsory triaging at all health facilities, the establishment of a National Electronic Emergency Bed Management System and expanded emergency response training for healthcare professionals.
Prof. Akosa’s latest remarks reinforce growing calls for stricter enforcement of emergency care protocols to prevent future avoidable deaths.
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