The Sad Death of Adwoa Boamah

The common practice of doctors diverting serious medical cases from first class government hospitals to ill-equipped private health centres with the motive to treat them privately and improve their income has come to sharp focus as a former Publishing student of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, died at a private clinic in Kumasi following three sets of major surgery.

The victim, Adwoa Boamah, 32, initially reported at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) at Kumasi with a medical condition which doctors diagnosed to be Fibroid. She was treated and discharged but later reported at the hospital and complained to doctors about severe pains in her abdomen.

Under strange circumstances Adwoa was referred from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the number two medial centre in Ghana, to Bilsons Allen Clinic at Ahinsae Estates, a suburb of Kumasi where she was attended to by Professor D. Nii Amon Kotei who performed three major surgical operations on her but all the surgeries failed. She died on 8th August 2007, one week after the third surgery.

After Adwoa succumbed to death, her body was deposited at the Aninwa Medical Centre Mortuary in Kumasi. Professor D. Nii Amon Kotei immediately issued a report that the patient died from Typhoid and said laboratory results from his clinic have proved she had Typhoid.

Adwoa spent about a month at the Bilson's Allen Clinic and her family spent more than ¢4 million on each surgery in addition to other monies demanded by Prof. D. Nii Amon Kotei who is in charge of general and pediatric surgery at the clinic.

When we called Prof. D. Nii Amon Kotei on the phone to find out the cause of Adwoa's death, he was resolute that it was Typhoid. "It is Typhoid. I can't discuss this with you over the phone. My doors are open to you, and you can come for a discussion on this. The lab report has indicated so." He explained.

The Coroner's report summarized the cause of death to be General Peritonitis and Second Degree Gangrenous Bowel. A medical expert in Accra explained that Peritonitis is the result of inflammation (swelling) of the membrane lining the stomach walls of the abdomen. He also explained that gangrene develops when part of the body decays or dies and in such cases the supply of blood to that part is stopped.

The medical expert said Perforated Typhoid could make such footprints as disclosed by the coroner's report but wondered why Prof. D. Nii Amon Kotei did not refer the case to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital when it became apparent after the second major surgery that the patient's life was in danger, but rather went ahead to perform a third major surgery at his clinic.

He wondered whether Prof. Kotei had consulted other colleagues to discuss the second failed surgery, as normally done in the medical profession, to determine the appropriate option to save the life of the lady whose health was then deteriorating.

According to the medical expert, if Prof. Kotei actually diagnosed Typhoid as he claimed, particularly Perforated Typhoid, which would have damaged part of the intestine, then he might have performed a Laparotomy (cutting off of the part of the diseased or damaged intestine and suturing it). He said if the patient really spent about one month on admission in his clinic that was enough time for him to be able to diagnose the disease and treat it before it caused any havoc but unfortunately it was not so which raised many questions to be answered.

*READ MORE OF THIS STORY IN THE NEW GHANAIAN NEWSPAPER