Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has declared that human life cannot be subordinated to administrative convenience following the death of a 29-year-old accident victim who was reportedly turned away from three hospitals in Accra.
Speaking in Parliament on February 24, 2026, Afenyo Markin described the incident as a catastrophic failure of the healthcare system and called for urgent parliamentary oversight.
According to Afenyo Markin, the accident victim was rushed to the Police Hospital, the Ridge Hospital, and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital but was rejected at each facility due to claims that no beds were available.
He stated that at none of the hospitals was triage conducted, and at none were the patient’s vital signs taken.
For approximately 30 minutes, the victim remained in the ambulance as attempts were made to secure a bed. He eventually went into cardiac arrest. Despite CPR efforts by the ambulance crew, he was pronounced dead.
“A life extinguished, not by the initial accident, but by a systemic failure of the state,” Afenyo Markin told the House.
2018 Ghana Health Service directive cited
The minority leader referenced a 2018 directive issued under the leadership of the then Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, which explicitly prohibited the denial of emergency care on the basis of bed availability.
The directive mandated immediate triage and stabilization of emergency patients, even if alternative surfaces such as couches, tables, or wheelchairs had to be used when beds were unavailable.
“The principle was and remains simple: stabilize first, resolve bed logistics later,” Afenyo Markin stressed.
He questioned whether that directive had been breached and insisted that accountability must follow if negligence or professional misconduct is established.
Parliamentary oversight demanded
While acknowledging reports that the Ministry and the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA) have initiated investigations, Afenyo Markin maintained that executive inquiries cannot replace parliamentary oversight under Article 103 of the 1992 Constitution.
He called on the Health Committee of Parliament to:
- Summon the Chief Executive Officers and Heads of Emergency Units of the three hospitals involved.
- Demand triage logs, duty rosters, and bed occupancy records for the night in question.
- Establish whether the 2018 Ghana Health Service directive was breached.
- Determine whether professional misconduct or negligence occurred.
He stated that sanctions must follow misconduct, prosecution must follow negligence, and comprehensive reforms must follow if systemic failures are uncovered.
Afenyo Markin warned that if a young man can be transported from one public hospital to another and be refused care until he dies, then no Ghanaian is safe.
“Not the rich, nor the poor, nor the politician, nor the ordinary man on the streets,” he said.
He reiterated that emergency care cannot be treated as optional and that hospitals have neither the moral nor legal discretion to abandon critically ill patients.
“The death must force this nation to change. Human life cannot be subordinated to administrative convenience,” Afenyo Markin submitted.
