The late Charles Amissah died after a hit and run accident
When a hit-and-run victim, identified as 29-year-old Charles Amissah, an engineer at Promasidor Ghana Limited in the North Industrial Area of Accra, was rushed to three major health facilities in the city following a roadside accident, he was repeatedly turned away.
This occurred despite longstanding directives from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) that no patient should be denied emergency care due to a lack of beds.
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According to a graphic.com.gh report, Amissah lay in an ambulance outside Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the Police Hospital, and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for nearly three hours without receiving effective treatment.
He ultimately died without being admitted, reportedly due to ‘no-bed syndrome.’
In 2018, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, then Director-General of the GHS, issued a directive to tackle the ‘no-bed’ syndrome in hospitals.
He instructed health facility managers nationwide that, under no circumstances, should a patient be denied admission due to the unavailability of beds, as part of broader measures to eliminate the phenomenon.
“We have just sent letters round to the regions and the districts that no Ghana health facility from now should turn away any emergencies,” Dr Nsiah-Asare was quoted as saying by dailyguidenetwork.com in 2018.
The directive followed the death of Prince Anthony Opoku Acheampong, a 70-year-old patient who spent almost two hours being transported from one hospital to another, covering about 50 kilometres across seven major hospitals, as none admitted him due to purported lack of beds.
Dr Nsiah-Asare stressed that beds are not necessarily required to treat emergency cases, which can be handled anywhere in the hospital, including on a couch, table, wheelchair, or bed.
“There should be no reason at any time for a health worker to say there is no bed for an emergency,” he said.
However, the case of Charles Amissah suggests that the directive was ignored. According to graphic.com.gh, ambulance staff who promptly administered first aid at the scene first took Amissah to Ridge Hospital, where he was denied admission and immediate care.
He was then referred to the Police Hospital, where he waited in the ambulance without treatment. Finally, at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, staff again cited capacity issues and refused to admit him for stabilisation.
Despite an ambulance crew ready to continue lifesaving care on site, hospital officials reportedly denied permission for further treatment inside the ambulance.
Amissah was initially reported missing by his family at the Adenta Police Station.
His disappearance was shared widely on social media to solicit public assistance in locating him. His family’s post read, “Last seen 6th February 2026 at Santa Maria on a red motorcycle, wearing a red round-neck shirt, jam-suit trousers, and red shoes.”
It was only on Monday, February 9, 2026, that the family received confirmation from Nima Police Station that Charles Amissah had been the victim of the hit-and-run and was in the mortuary.
As of the time of this report, neither the hospitals involved nor the Ghana Health Service has issued an official response.
MAG/MA
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