Three major health facilities, several medical professionals and the Attorney General (AG), have been sued by the family of deceased engineer Charles Henry Amissah over their alleged involvement in the death of their relative.

The family is seeking GH¢20 million in general damages at the High Court in Accra over the incident which occurred in February that has caused pain, suffering, emotional distress, and harm.

According to the committee appointed by the government to probe the circumstances leading to the death of Charles Amissah, he died from medical neglect and denial of emergency care after being turned away by three major hospitals.

The committee added that Charles Amissah died of “exsanguination, excessive loss of blood, due to an upper right arm bone and soft tissue injury, causing damage to the adductor”.

The committee has suggested Dr Anne-Marie Kudowor of the Police Hospital, Dr Nina Naomi Eyram Adotevi of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, and Dr Ida Druant, as well as Dr (Med) Genevieve Adjar of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, alongside other nursing and regulatory staff be suspended, for playing a role in Charles Amissah’s death.

On February 6, public anger and revived discussions about Ghana’s “No Bed Syndrome when the 29-year-old young man lost his life after he was knocked down by a speeding vehicle near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Overpass in Accra.

Charles Amissah who was with Promasidor Ghana Limited, sustained multiple injuries, particularly to his shoulders. Following the incident, the management of the hospital, in a press statement issued on Monday, February 23, indicated that it had constituted a committee to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the death of the victim.

It further announced that two medical doctors and two nurses have been interdicted following their alleged failure to provide emergency medical care to Charles Amissah.

Ghana has been struggling with the ‘no bed syndrome’ for decades, with no lasting solution to the situation. The ‘no bed syndrome’ describes the practice of hospitals and clinics turning away patients seeking walk-in or referral emergency care, citing reasons such as “no bed available” or “all beds are full.”

Meanwhile, Former Minister of Health, Bernard Okoe Boye, has indicated that the “no bed syndrome” in Ghana’s healthcare system goes beyond a mere shortage of hospital beds.Speaking to the media, he explained that several factors, such as the absence of certain medical specialties, limited equipment, and broader infrastructural gaps within the health system, contribute to the situation.

He noted, “In other cases, the ‘no bed’ situation is not about physical space but about the absence of the required specialty or equipment.”On February 6, Charles Amissah was knocked down in a hit‑and‑run incident near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Overpass in Accra.

Addressing the press in a conference on Wednesday, May 5, Chairman of the committee, Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa, revealed that following findings from his autopsy, it can be confirmed that Mr Amissah could have survived if he had received timely medical attention.

“And the pathology confirms a slow death from medical neglect, and was not from the instant trauma. What it means is that if at any of these facilities, there had been medical intervention, Charles Amissah could have survived,” he said.

He explained that the cause of death was excessive blood loss resulting from a severe injury to the upper arm.

“Charles Amissah died of exsanguination, excessive loss of blood, due to an upper right arm bone and soft tissue injury, causing damage to the adductor,” he added.

He was first attended to by personnel from the National Ambulance Service, but later struggled to access emergency care. Reports indicate that he was turned away by several health facilities, including the Police Hospital, Ridge Hospital, and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, reportedly due to a lack of available beds.

He died while still being transported for care, triggering widespread public outrage and renewed scrutiny of the country’s emergency response system.

The incident led to the formation of a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death, particularly concerns about delays in treatment and gaps in emergency care.

The findings have intensified calls for reforms in Ghana’s emergency healthcare system, particularly in ensuring timely access to critical care for accident victims.

Charles Amissah was alive after the accident but was transferred between several hospitals in Accra without receiving proper emergency care.

He was moved from the Police Hospital to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, then to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, and a referral to the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) was considered but never completed. He died after about 118 minutes of continuous transfers.

About two months ago, government announced that it was set to establish a National Command Centre as part of efforts to significantly reduce emergency response time and improve patient outcomes across Ghana’s healthcare system.

Board Chairman of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Prof. Titus Beyuo, said the proposed centre will enable real-time coordination of emergency cases, ensuring patients are directed to hospitals with available beds instead of overcrowded facilities.

He disclosed the plan amid growing concerns about congestion at major referral hospitals, particularly Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which continues to receive a high volume of emergency cases.

Speaking on the Joy Super Morning Show on Tuesday, March 24, Prof. Beyuo explained that the command centre forms part of a broader emergency patient management system being developed to streamline care delivery nationwide.

“We need the ambulance service to relocate their call centre to this national command centre. We need to get physicians and other people at the command centre who will do an online sorting of patients and redirect them,” he explained.

The initiative is expected to transform how the National Ambulance Service operates, as ambulance teams will no longer send patients automatically to facilities like Korle Bu Teaching Hospital or Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital without confirming bed availability.