The Ministry of Health has clarified that its decision to refer the case involving officials from the Trauma and Specialist Hospital in Winneba to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Attorney General’s Department is aimed at establishing the facts surrounding the incident.
This follows a directive from Health Minister Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye to probe hospital officials implicated in the mishandling of a patient who was transferred to Ojobi and subsequently abandoned, leading to her death.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, October 2, Isaac Ofei Baah, the Public Relations Officer for the Ministry, explained that the CID and Attorney General are the appropriate bodies to assess whether any criminal charges should be filed against the officers involved.
Baah also highlighted that, while the criminal investigation is underway, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) will handle the administrative side of the case.
The GHS will conduct a fair hearing for the officers involved, giving them the opportunity to explain their actions and clarify whether they were following orders from superiors.
“It was mentioned that even though there had been issues of accident, nobody can identify the exact location where the accident occurred. So, further investigation will lead to some of those issues coming up. The officers who misconducted themselves, one way or the other, may be acting in a capacity which they are not supposed to.
“When you are perceived to be somebody you are not, we all know the implication that comes along with it. It is only the criminal investigation department of the Ghana Police Service and then the Attorney General’s Department that can lead us to establish a charge against such officers.
He continued: “Each profession has its own rules and regulations that workers are supposed to work within. So, if you flout any of those laws; some have criminal charges, others are civil charges. Where the administration is not able to take care of, they are supposed to hand you over to the police service for them to take their action.”
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