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Chairman of Parliament’s Health Committee, Mark Kurt Nawaane, has urged families who lose relatives due to the country’s persistent “no bed syndrome” to seek legal redress against health facilities that deny emergency care.
His comments follow reports that a hit-and-run victim was allegedly turned away by three major hospitals — Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), Police Hospital, and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital — due to a lack of available bed space.
Speaking to journalists, Dr. Nawaane described the refusal to admit emergency patients as unacceptable.
“You carry your relative to the place, and if you’re not satisfied with anything, I think you should be able to pursue it,” he said.
He pointed to regulatory bodies such as the Medical and Dental Council, the Health Facilities Regulatory Authority (HeFRA), and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) as avenues for formal complaints.
Dr. Nawaane stressed that standard medical practice requires emergency patients to be stabilised before referral.
“When it is an emergency, we expect that you stabilise the person first. Even if you need to refer, you do so after stabilisation,” he said.
He attributed part of the problem to poor coordination and communication among health facilities, particularly in urban areas where several major hospitals operate in close proximity.
“If you go to the first hospital and there is no bed, they should be able to inform you that there is a bed in another hospital. But it appears every hospital is operating like an island,” he noted.
He called for a networked system that enables facilities to share real-time information on bed availability to prevent critically ill patients from moving from one hospital to another without receiving care.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nawaane disclosed that part of the GH¢2.9 billion approved for the Ghana Medical Trust Fund will be used to upgrade regional health facilities and reduce pressure on major referral centres.
Out of the total allocation, GH¢1.6 billion has been earmarked for claims payment, GH¢975 million for infrastructure and equipment upgrades, and GH¢44.2 million for specialist medical training.
He noted that many accredited regional hospitals lack essential diagnostic tools such as MRI and CT scan machines, limiting their ability to handle complex cases.
Dr. Nawaane assured that Parliament’s Health Committee will exercise strict oversight to ensure the funds are utilised transparently and in line with national priorities.
