The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has expressed deep concern over the handling of the investigative report into the death of Charles Amissah, warning that the public naming of medical professionals in the findings has exposed them to hostility and personal risk.
The Association’s reaction follows a directive by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, instructing the Chief Director of the Ministry to initiate disciplinary proceedings against health workers implicated in the case after the committee’s report was submitted.
Speaking on Citi News on Thursday, May 7, GMA President Dr. Ernest Yorke described the decision to publicly identify the doctors as “unfortunate,” stressing that it has triggered widespread backlash against those named and shifted attention away from the broader gaps in Ghana’s emergency health system.
According to him, some of the professionals cited in the report are already facing threats, online harassment, and damaging messages, a situation he said is undermining their safety and mental well-being. “…It has implications for their practice, their mental health, and others. And that is why we are saying even if they’ve done wrong, there are better ways of handling this without necessarily having to put them [out],” he lamented.
The Association argued that alternative approaches exist for accountability, noting that in many legal and disciplinary systems, identities are protected until processes are concluded, and in some cases, names are withheld to prevent undue harm.
While maintaining that it supports accountability within the health sector, the GMA insisted that any corrective measures must balance transparency with protection for professionals, especially in high-pressure clinical environments. The report reportedly concluded that Charles Amissah, a 29-year-old engineer, died as a result of medical neglect rather than injuries sustained from a hit-and-run incident.
Among those who were named and are expected to face disciplinary action are 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 cited in the report.
Source: Patricia Boakye