The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has announced that he will personally chair a committee beginning Monday, February 16, to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of a 29-year-old accident victim who was reportedly denied admission at three major hospitals in Accra.
The decision follows public outrage over what has become known as another case of Ghana’s persistent ‘No Bed Syndrome’, a term used to describe situations where critically ill patients are turned away from health facilities because of capacity constraints.
Speaking on Citi FM on Friday, February 13, Mr Akandoh expressed deep sorrow over the incident and pledged a full inquiry.
“I was devastated when I heard that somebody had lost his life through this ordeal. We are going to investigate this matter. By Monday, the committee should be in action, and I am going to chair it myself. We will invite all interested parties and get to the bottom of the matter,” he stated.
The Incident
The deceased, Charles Amissah, a 29-year-old engineer, was involved in a hit-and-run accident at the Nkrumah Circle Overpass on February 6, 2026. According to preliminary accounts, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) from the National Ambulance Service responded promptly and stabilised him at the scene.
However, he was reportedly denied admission at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) and the Police Hospital over a period spanning nearly three hours due to the unavailability of beds.
He later died while attempts were being made to secure a facility that could admit him.
The three facilities involved are among the largest and most equipped referral centres in the Greater Accra Region. Korle Bu Teaching Hospital alone has a bed capacity of approximately 2,000, serving as Ghana’s premier tertiary referral centre. At the same time, Ridge Hospital and the Police Hospital play critical roles in trauma and emergency care within the capital.
Systemic Pressure on Urban Hospitals
Health sector data indicate that emergency units in major Accra hospitals frequently operate at or above capacity, particularly on weekends and during peak accident periods. Ghana’s doctor-to-patient ratio currently stands at roughly 1:8,000, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended threshold, while bed-to-population ratios remain constrained in urban centres experiencing rapid population growth.
In Accra, which hosts more than 5 million residents in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, trauma cases linked to road accidents alone account for thousands of emergency admissions annually. The National Road Safety Authority has consistently reported high accident rates on major highways and interchanges, including the Circle Overpass corridor.
Public health experts have long warned that emergency referral coordination gaps — rather than absolute national bed shortages — often contribute to fatal delays in care.
Minister Urges Caution Against Premature Blame
While acknowledging the systemic nature of the ‘No Bed Syndrome’, Mr Akandoh cautioned against assigning responsibility before a thorough inquiry.
“I was devastated when I heard that somebody had lost his life through this ordeal. We are going to investigate this matter… We will invite all interested parties and get to the bottom of the matter,” he reiterated.
He emphasised that the committee would gather evidence from hospital administrators, emergency physicians, ambulance service personnel, and potentially family members of the deceased to establish a factual account of events.
The minister indicated that the probe would determine whether the incident was purely a capacity issue, a breakdown in referral coordination, or a failure in protocol adherence.
Centralised Bed Monitoring System Proposed
Beyond the immediate investigation, Mr Akandoh outlined plans for structural reform aimed at preventing similar occurrences in the future. Central to these reforms is the establishment of a centralised call centre to track hospital bed availability nationwide.
Under the proposed system, health authorities would have real-time visibility into available beds across public and potentially private facilities. The system would allow ambulance dispatchers and emergency coordinators to redirect patients to facilities with confirmed capacity before arrival.
Health policy analysts note that several countries operate integrated bed management dashboards linked to emergency services to reduce turnaround time and prevent “hospital hopping”.
The current referral process largely depends on phone calls between facilities and manual confirmation of space.
The Minister’s proposal aligns with broader digitisation efforts within the health sector, including ongoing work to integrate hospital information systems under the National Health Insurance Authority’s claims platform.
Broader Implications
The latest incident has reignited debate about healthcare infrastructure funding, emergency preparedness, and urban hospital congestion. Over the past decade, Ghana has expanded district-level hospital infrastructure under initiatives such as Agenda 111, aimed at improving regional access and reducing pressure on tertiary centres like Korle Bu.
However, experts argue that without parallel investments in emergency triage systems, trauma centres, and ambulance fleet expansion, tertiary hospitals in Accra will continue to face acute overcrowding.
Civil society organisations and medical associations are expected to monitor the committee’s findings closely, with calls already emerging for enforceable protocols requiring hospitals to provide at least initial stabilisation and coordinated referral in emergency cases.
The committee is expected to begin work on Monday, February 16, with its terms of reference and reporting timeline anticipated to be announced thereafter.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
