Ghana Health Service to probe Suntreso Hospital over pregnant woman's death

Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Ashanti Region, has said investigations will be conducted into the circumstances that led to the death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman, Angela Afriyie Agyemang, at the Suntreso Government hospital in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, over her husband’s inability to have immediately paid a GHS500 ‘doctor motivation fee’.

Angela Afriyie Agyemang’s unborn baby also died on the same day, 4 July 2018, after the health personnel delayed attending to her.

The husband of the deceased, Pastor Solomon Lamo Latiff, told journalists that he took the wife to the hospital on Tuesday, 3 July 2018 when she was in labour but could not deliver on the same day.

“My wife, whose delivery time had elapsed for seven days, couldn’t deliver on Tuesday so on Wednesday, the medical doctor in charge, only known as Dr. Sarpong said Caesarean Section (CS) had to be performed to save the mother and the unborn baby, and an agreed fee of GHS500 was to be paid to Dr Sarpong, as ‘motivation fee’ after the surgery but Dr. Sarpong allowed other women into the theatre before my wife while I was organising myself to pay the money but my wife passed on in the process,” he recounted.

“After the agreement, I procured all the necessary medication for the surgery and when my wife, who had been sitting in a wheelchair for more than three hours having difficulty breathing and was told to hold on as more critical cases had to be attended to.

He continued that when his wife’s situation worsened, he called the attention of the nurses and she was rushed to the theatre for the CS.

“After ten minutes, I was called into the theatre to be told that she and the baby couldn’t survive. All that I saw was the lifeless body of my pregnant wife on the theatre bed, I was speechless and tears started flowing,” Pastor Lamo cried.

Speaking on the incident on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM Tuesday, 10 July hosted by Chief Jerry Forson, Dr Tenkorang, who described the incident as unfortunate, said the GHS will commence a thorough investigation into the matter.

He added that whoever is found guilty will be punished severely.