Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, research fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has urged a thorough and candid investigation into the shortcomings of Ghana’s health system, warning that political and economic inaction continues to endanger lives.
Speaking on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday February 21, Dr. Sarpong said the focus should not be on blaming health professionals or individual hospitals, but on addressing systemic gaps from a political and economic perspective.
“There needs to be an honest and candid investigation, not by way of finger pointing or blaming the system, but to ask whether we have truly confronted the problems in our health system from the start,” he said.
“We know the problem, we know the solution, yet we fail to make the necessary political and economic investments. Then we wait for poor outcomes to happen and start making politics out of the situation.”
Dr. Sarpong had previously highlighted how insufficient resources, limited emergency preparedness, and lack of critical tools contribute to high mortality rates in emergency cases.
He cited the Holistic Assessment of Health Programme of Works (2024) and the Health Harmonisation Assessment Report (2023), both of which indicate that patients in emergency situations face higher odds of death than survival.
His comments follow the death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah, who was involved in a hit-and-run accident at the Circle Overpass in Accra on February 6, 2026. Despite receiving initial care from emergency responders, Amissah was reportedly turned away from three major hospitals due to lack of bed space. Attempts to transfer him to the University of Ghana Medical Centre were unsuccessful, and he later suffered cardiac arrest at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The incident has reignited debate over hospital bed capacity, emergency care protocols, and the responsiveness of Ghana’s referral health facilities. Dr. Sarpong insists that the crisis is not solely a medical issue, but a reflection of systemic and political neglect that requires urgent reform to prevent future tragedies.
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