By Boakye Stephen, Kumasi, Ghana | Reporting for Ghanaian News, Canada
Parliament’s Health Committee has issued a strong warning to medical professionals following the release of findings into the death of Charles Amissah, the 29-year-old engineer whose passing triggered national outrage over emergency healthcare failures in Ghana.
Chairman of the Committee, Mark Kurt Nawaane, stated that health professionals who are no longer able to cope with the demands of medical practice should step aside rather than compromise patient care.
“If you are a medical professional and you are tired of the work, you probably have to resign. I’m telling you,” he said.
His remarks followed the presentation of findings by the three-member investigative committee chaired by Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa. The committee recommended disciplinary measures against several healthcare workers accused of breaching professional duties during the handling of Charles Amissah’s emergency case.
Mr Nawaane praised the committee for directly identifying individuals allegedly responsible for lapses in care rather than limiting blame to institutions alone.
“Immediately we started and mentioned medical negligence and even started coming up with names, and I said thank God, this is a step forward,” he noted.
According to him, accountability within healthcare must move beyond buildings and systems to include individual conduct and ethical responsibility.
“Now we are saying that it is beyond just a facility. It is the individuals,” he said.
The lawmaker further stressed that medical ethics require practitioners to seek assistance when faced with situations beyond their capabilities.
“If you are ready to work, please, there are ethics. If you can’t do something, you call your colleague doctor, your senior doctor,” he added.
The Charles Amissah case has become one of Ghana’s most discussed healthcare controversies in recent months, raising broader concerns about emergency response standards, professional conduct, and institutional accountability across hospitals.
COMMENTARY | BOAKYE STEPHEN
This statement may sound harsh, but it reflects a painful national frustration.
Healthcare is not ordinary work. Fatigue in medicine can cost lives.
The real issue here is not merely punishment, it is culture. When professionals become emotionally disconnected from urgency, emergency care begins to lose meaning.
But the solution must go beyond anger. The system itself must also ask difficult questions:
Are health workers overwhelmed? Are hospitals understaffed? Are emergency systems functional enough to support ethical practice?
Accountability matters. But sustainable reform matters even more.
