Emergency Medicine Society of Ghana faults systemic failures in Amissah death, warns against blaming frontline health workers
The Emergency Medicine Society of Ghana says systemic failures in emergency healthcare, not individual clinicians, are to blame for the death of Mr. Charles Amissah.
In a position statement on Wednesday, EMSOG expressed condolences to the family of Mr. Amissah and responded to findings by a committee chaired by Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa that investigated his death.
While supporting accountability in healthcare, EMSOG said the current discourse “risks disproportionately focusing accountability on individual healthcare workers while insufficiently addressing the profound systemic failures that created the conditions under which this tragedy occurred.”
The Society described the “No Bed Syndrome” as “the manifestation of years of underinvestment in emergency systems, fragmented referral pathways, inadequate emergency bed coordination, workforce shortages, overcrowding, inconsistent triage systems, limited prehospital capabilities.”
EMSOG raised concerns over the public disclosure of names of healthcare professionals involved, saying it.
“raises significant concerns regarding professional dignity, due process, personal safety, and the long-term psychological and reputational impact.”. The statement said.
The Society also questioned aspects of the committee’s conclusions, stating that matters of professional negligence and disciplinary action fall within the jurisdiction of the Medical and Dental Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
“While investigative committees play an important fact-finding role, EMSOG believes it is critical that due regulatory processes are respected,”, the statement said.
EMSOG urged a “Just Culture” approach that distinguishes willful negligence from adverse outcomes in unsafe, under-resourced systems.
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Emergency clinicians across Ghana operate daily under extreme constraints, frequently improvising to save lives,”_ it said.
EMSOG said it “firmly rejects any recommendation that disproportionately singles out frontline healthcare professionals as the primary cause of this tragedy while failing to adequately confront the deep-rooted systemic failures.”
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/ Jacob Agyenim Boateng, Kumasi.
