No bed syndrome: Unqualified medical officers turned away 70-year-old man – GHS

Preliminary investigations by the Ghana Health Service have revealed that the health workers who turned away a 70-year-old man because there were no beds are unqualified medical officers.

An investigative Committee set up by the Ministry of Health is expected to present its findings on July 6, 2018.

Prince Anthony Opoku Acheampong, the CEO of Printhony Printing Press in Adabraka, a suburb of Accra finally died in his car at the LEKMA Hospital after he was turned away from the Adabraka branch of C&J Hospital, Korle Bu Polyclinic, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the Ridge hospital.

The other hospitals he was turned away from include the Police Hospital, the Trust Hospital and finally the LEKMA hospital. The son of the deceased, Obiri Yeboah took to social media at the weekend to share the sad events leading to his father’s death.

Speaking at a launch to support victims of medical malpractice, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Nsiah Asare stated that the hospital staff who turned away the deceased man were unqualified to provide medical care.

“From our initial investigations, no doctors was involved or saw the patient. For all you care the people who were asking the patient to go have no locus at all, some of them are not hospital workers. Anybody can stand somewhere and say there was bed, the system of emergency care failed that night.

The reason why I’m saying that is that, seven hospitals cutting across the whole spectrum of healthcare delivery, government, teaching hospital, regional hospital, quasi-government hospital, that is Police Hospital, SSNIT Hospital and eventually at a district hospital at LEKMA where that time the patient after about four hours of roaming in Accra was already gone. I don’t blame anybody, I blame the system.”