Former General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Justice Yankson, has asserted that the family of Charles Amissah have grounds to sue the state following findings from the Prof. Badu Akosa Committee’s report into the circumstances surrounding the hit-and-run victim’s death.
According to him, the report exposes deeper systemic failures within Ghana’s healthcare delivery system, particularly longstanding concerns over bed shortages and poor communication between hospitals during emergency referrals.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, Dr. Yankson argued that beyond individual accountability, the state must also be held responsible for persistent structural lapses that continue to endanger lives.
“This whole document for me has also given an opportunity for us as individuals to also start suing the state itself because the facts have been unearthed. The state is also culpable,” he said.
“It will be up to the late Charles Amissah’s family to decide whether they want to go on that route for some compensation or otherwise,” he added.
Dr. Yankson stressed that concerns over the “no bed syndrome” and ineffective inter-hospital communication during emergencies have been raised repeatedly over the years, yet little has been done to address them.
According to him, the latest findings provide documented evidence that could support legal action and potentially force institutional reforms.
“Because for so long this has happened and we’ve never taken proper steps to help remedy some of these things. Now there is a proper document you can rely on,” he stated.
His comments come amid growing public debate over accountability following revelations that Amissah was turned away from multiple health facilities, including the Police Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, due to the unavailability of beds.
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