How Three Major Hospitals Refused A Hit-And-Run Victim Emergency Care And He Died

A shocking incident in Accra has raised serious concerns about emergency medical care after a hit-and-run victim was refused treatment by three leading government hospitals, ultimately leading to his death. The man, identified as 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah, was involved in a road crash at the Nkrumah Circle Overpass while riding his motorcycle home from work. Officials and relatives say he spent nearly three hours being turned away by hospital emergency units before he died without receiving urgent medical care.

The National Ambulance Service responded to an emergency call that night and stabilised Charles at the scene, providing bleeding control, a spinal board and oxygen therapy before transporting him first to the Police Hospital, then to Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), and later to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. On all three occasions, medical staff did not admit him or provide emergency treatment, and vital signs were not monitored despite the ambulance emergency medical technicians (EMTs) offering to wait or use the ambulance stretcher to secure care inside the facilities.

At the Police Hospital, staff reportedly said the facility had no available space. When the ambulance crew subsequently took Charles to Ridge and then to Korle Bu, neither hospital attended to him, even though his condition deteriorated over time and the EMTs repeatedly urged for immediate care. At Korle Bu, staff finally advised that Charles be taken to the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) at Legon, but the transfer did not happen, and Charles’s state worsened.

After nearly three hours in the ambulance without treatment, Charles went into cardiac arrest. The EMTs attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but were unable to save him. It was only after he died that a duty doctor at Korle Bu came out to certify his passing and instructed that his body be taken to the mortuary.

Meanwhile, Charles’s family had been unaware of what had happened that night. When he did not return home, they reported him missing at a police station, and it was only days later that they were informed the missing person turned out to be the hit-and-run victim whose body was at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The refusal of emergency treatment by these three major facilities has been framed by many as a tragic example of “no-bed syndrome,” where patients in urgent need are turned away from hospital emergency departments due to bed shortages or other non-medical reasons, leading to preventable deaths. The case has drawn heavy attention on social media and renewed calls for stronger enforcement of medical care standards and emergency protocols in Ghana’s health system