Korle Bu hides identities of four interdicted staff

The management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has left many questioning the sincerity of its investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of a hit-and-run victim, Charles Amissah, an engineer at Promasidor Ghana Limited in the North Industrial Area of Accra.

The 29-year-old was rushed to three major public health facilities in the city after a roadside accident, but he was turned away each time. Only his body was admitted into the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary after he died in an ambulance.

Strangely, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has kept the identities of the four health workers confidential in the press statement announcing that two medical doctors and two nurses have been interdicted following their alleged failure to provide emergency medical care to a hit-and-run victim.

The omission of names and the secrecy surrounding their identities by the health institution with thousands of workers has raised many questions, although the hospital stated, “The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital remains committed to transparency, accountability and the delivery of quality healthcare services”, adding, “Further information will be communicated upon completion of the investigation.”

Interestingly, one Dr Nkrumah, who was on duty at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, was captured by media reports as appearing when the victim had died. He came out to certify the patient as dead and instructed the ambulance crew to convey the body to the mortuary for preservation. Dr Nkrumah’s name was not mentioned in the Korle Bu statement.

However, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital was not the only public health facility to refuse Amissah emergency medical treatment, which led to his death in a vehicle owned by the National Ambulance Service. The Police Hospital and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital also refused to treat, even failing to provide First Aid. But the two facilities have yet to announce any investigations or actions against their staff, who also refused emergency treatment for the late Amissah.

Equally strange is that the police, since 6 February 2026, have not issued any statement on the widely publicised incident, including plans to trace and arrest the driver who knocked down Amissah, leading to his eventual death. This is despite the existence of the Emergency Call Center (ECC), which operates under the National Signals Bureau (NSB), a key national security institution responsible for communication monitoring, intelligence gathering, and security, established under the National Signals Bureau Act, 2020 (Act 1040). The state had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the construction, but it appears the centre is not fulfilling its intended purpose.

The statement issued in the name of the management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, and dated Monday, 23rd February 2026, said that the investigation was “In line with established administrative procedures, a committee has been constituted to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and the unfortunate death of the victim”.

“Pending the outcome of the committee’s work, the Board and Management call on all persons connected to the matter to cooperate fully with the committee to ensure a fair and transparent inquiry”.

“The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital remains committed to transparency, accountability and the delivery of quality healthcare services. Further information will be communicated upon completion of the investigation”.

For close to three hours on Friday [February 6, 2026], a victim of a hit-and-run incident at Nkrumah Circle Overpass in Accra was refused emergency care by three major hospitals in Accra, with the explanation of “no vacant bed available,” until he died.

The Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) from the National Ambulance Service received a walk-in call at 10:32 pm that day to attend to an emergency Road Traffic Crash (RTC) at Circle Overpass. They responded and mobilised to the scene within three minutes, arriving by 10:35 pm.

From that period till around 00:50 am, the EMT from the ambulance service fruitlessly negotiated with the three hospitals to either admit the victim or attend to him in the ambulance before he died.

That victim was later identified as 29-year-old Charles Amissah, an engineer working at Promasidor Ghana Limited in the North Industrial Area in Accra, producer of Cowbell milk and other food products.

Charles had closed from work at the North Industrial Area and was on his way home to Adenta on a red motorcycle when he was involved in a hit-and-run incident at the Nkrumah Circle Overpass in Accra.

Ambulance Service reported in its situational report (SITREP) that the EMT, after responding to the distress call, controlled the bleeding with a gauze bandage, applied a cervical collar, log-rolled the patient onto a spine board, and loaded him into the ambulance. Oxygen therapy was initiated via nasal prongs at 4 litres per minute. Vital signs were monitored every five (5) minutes.

The initial assessment by the ambulance EMT were: BP: 120/90 mmHg, Pulse: 100 bpm, Respiratory Rate: 25 bpm, SpO₂: 99% and Temperature: 36.4°C.

They first took the victim, weighing 120kg, with a height of 1.75m, to the Police Hospital, then to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge) before Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

None of the three major hospitals admitted the victim, nor did the staff offer emergency care, even when the ambulance EMT offered to wait and use the ambulance trolley. Staff at the Police Hospital said there was no space within the facility.

Over the almost three hours, no hospital staff attended to the casualty, nor were vital signs taken at any of the three hospitals.

At Korle Bu, the EMT from the ambulance service used 30 minutes to negotiate that, due to the deterioration of the patient’s condition, they were objecting to further transportation and explained that continued movement could place the patient in a dangerous situation.

This was when Korle Bu, the third hospital they had visited that night, rejected the victim and advised the crew to continue transporting him to the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) at Legon.

However, despite several negotiations, more than 30 minutes at Korle Bu in particular, the victim was still refused, and no hospital staff attended to the casualty, nor were vital signs taken.

The victim went through the ordeal for close to three hours in the ambulance before going into cardiac arrest, and even though cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was immediately initiated by the ambulance EMT, it yielded no positive outcome.

The victim died, and it was only then that one Dr Nkrumah, who was on duty at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, came out to certify the patient dead and instructed the crew to convey the body to the mortuary. All this time, the family of the victim was not aware of what had happened.

When he did not return to the house in Adenta, they lodged a complaint at the Adenta Police Station, and he was declared missing. Information about him was shared on social media to help the public locate him.

Meanwhile, Dr Matilda Amissah, sister of the late Charles Amissah, has described the interdiction of four individuals by Korle Bu Teaching Hospital as a positive step but says it does not ease the pain of losing her brother.

Reacting to the development on JoyNews on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, Dr Matilda Amissah said the family remains devastated despite the disciplinary action.

“I think a couple of people spoke to me, and I was like, it won’t bring back Charles. Charles is gone, but at least it’s a step that we have taken. The bigger issue is still there, and we would have to handle it. Charles is gone, and we are still sad,” she said.

She described her late brother, popularly known as Kwabena Takyi, as a quiet and hardworking young man who played a vital role in supporting the family.

“He was a very quiet, loving young gentleman. He was the backbone of the house and supported my mum in everything. Because he was an engineer, he could dismantle and put things back together within the twinkle of an eye,” she recounted.

According to her, the family initially thought he was missing after the accident and reported the matter to the police. She said they were later contacted by the Nima Police Station to identify a victim involved in an accident.

“We thought he was missing, so we looked for him and reported to the police. They also did their part to search for him until the Nima Police Station called to say there had been an accident and that we needed to identify someone. We went to the Korle Bu mortuary, and there he was. Later, we realised that the National Ambulance Service had picked him up and taken him to three facilities for close to three hours, yet nobody attended to him,” she said.

“I was like, wow. I know we have many issues in the healthcare system that we have to address, but I was still heartbroken, and I’m still heartbroken. I’m smiling, but my heart is heavy. We’re hoping that things will change,” she added.

Dr Amissah said the family is relying on faith to cope with the loss while hoping for reforms to prevent similar incidents.

“We are comforted in the Lord. We know that things will change from whatever has happened. We can’t say much, but we put our trust in God,” she stated.

How three ‘big’ hospitals defied GHS directives and left a hit-and-run victim to die. She noted that her brother joined Promasidor Ghana after completing his studies in China and later undertaking his national service with the company, where he was retained as a full-time engineer.

The interdiction by Korle Bu forms part of ongoing administrative processes following public outrage over the circumstances surrounding his death.