The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has urged lawmakers to enact an Emergency Care Law to address recurring “needless deaths” of accident victims at health facilities across the country.
He described the recent incident involving the late Charles Amissah an employee of Promasidor Ghana Limited as emblematic of systemic failures in emergency healthcare delivery.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, Mr. Bagbin said such a law would hold negligent health workers accountable and prevent recurrent misconduct within the health system. “There are many examples of these needless deaths in this country … and there is something wrong here,” he said.
He directed the Parliamentary Health Committee to scrutinize all investigative reports from the Ministry of Health, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and other agencies, and has urged the committee to work closely with the Health Minister in preparing legislation.
Outrage over denial of care
The emergency began on the night of February 6, when Amissah was knocked down by an unidentified vehicle near the Circle Overpass in Accra. Emergency personnel from the Ghana Ambulance Service stabilized him but say he was denied admission at Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge) and Korle-Bu because no beds were available. He later went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead outside Korle-Bu.
The handling of the case has sparked public outrage over the so-called “no-bed syndrome,” where patients in need of urgent care are refused admission due to lack of space.
Calls for accountability Opposition figures have seized on the tragedy to demand accountability. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin told Parliament the incident reflects a “systemic failure of the state,” calling on the Health Committee to summon the heads of the three hospitals involved and review duty rosters, triage logs and bed occupancy records from the night of the incident. He warned that if negligence is proven, those responsible must face sanctions or prosecution.
Majority Leader weighs in Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, sharing his personal experience of surviving an accident thanks to effective emergency care, urged Parliament to ensure that emergency wards work for all Ghanaians and that those who fail in their duty are held responsible.
Government response
In response to the uproar, the Deputy Minister of Health, Prof. Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has pledged to tackle the no-bed syndrome by expanding infrastructure and hospital capacity. She described the death as “tragic” and said the government is committed to upgrading Ghana’s emergency healthcare system.
As investigations continue and Parliament moves toward possible new legislation, the case has intensified calls for reform in Ghana’s emergency medical services to prevent future loss of life in critical moments.