Ridge assault probe flawed – GRNMA says key doctor was ignored

The Greater Accra Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Jefferson Asare, has questioned the credibility of the Health Ministry’s investigative committee report on the Ridge Hospital assault case, claiming it failed to interview the doctor who first examined the victim.

The committee, chaired by Dr. Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, concluded there was no medical evidence of a fracture or dislocation after the incident involving rotation nurse, Rejoice Tsotso Bortei. Its findings indicated that the nurse reported her injuries a day after the alleged assault on August 18, with medical records showing no fracture in her wrist or dislocation in her shoulder.

But speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, August 27, Mr. Asare insisted the process was incomplete because the medical officer who initially assessed the nurse was excluded.

“I can say on record that the doctor that saw the lady was not even interviewed during the committee sittings,” he stated. “I have the medical report written and stamped with the doctor’s name on it. That doctor was not spoken to.”

He explained that the first diagnosis was made not by the nurse herself or her colleagues but by a senior medical officer at Ridge Hospital.

“The dislocation was not said by any nurse or even the victim. It was a senior medical officer who saw her on the Monday morning,” he stressed.

Mr. Asare further criticized the committee’s choice of witnesses. “You go and interview the HOD of that department. What account will the HOD give you? The relevant person to speak to was the doctor who first examined her. But did they interview that doctor? No.”

According to him, the initial assessment diagnosed the nurse with “poly contusion,” a term describing multiple bruises accompanied by swelling, redness, and pain at the site of injury.

“When we say poly contusion, it simply means there is swelling, redness, and pain at the site of the hit,” he clarified.