The Ministry of Health has clarified that the decision to refer the case involving officials from the Trauma and Specialist Hospital in Winneba to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Attorney General’s Department is aimed at establishing the facts.
This follows a directive from the Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, to investigate hospital officials implicated in the mishandling of a patient transferred to Ojobi, who was later abandoned, leading to her death.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, October 2, Isaac Ofei Baah, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, emphasized that the CID and the Attorney General are the proper authorities to determine any potential criminal charges against the officials involved.
Baah explained that the Ghana Health Service is managing the administrative aspects of the case. The Health Service will conduct a fair hearing for the officers, giving them the opportunity to explain their actions and clarify whether they were acting on instructions from a superior.
“It was mentioned that even though there had been issues of accident, nobody can identify the exact location where the accident occurred. So, further investigation will lead to some of those issues coming up. The officers who misconducted themselves, one way or the other, may be acting in a capacity which they are not supposed to.
“When you are perceived to be somebody you are not, we all know the implication that comes along with it. It is only the criminal investigation department of the Ghana Police Service and then the Attorney General’s Department that can lead us to establish a charge against such officers.
He continued: “Each profession has its own rules and regulations that workers are supposed to work within. So, if you flaunt any of those laws; some have criminal charges, others are civil charges. Where the administration is not able to take care of, they are supposed to have you over to the police service for them to take their action.”
