The Majority Leader of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has delivered a stern admonishment to Ghana’s healthcare system following the tragic death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah, who reportedly died after being turned away from three major hospitals due to unavailable beds.

Addressing the House on Tuesday, February 24, Mr Ayariga described the incident as a reflection of systemic failure and a disregard for human life.

“Speaker, I speak as somebody who was kept alive because the emergency ward of a hospital worked for me, and it must work for everybody, every citizen. In some jurisdictions, there would have been public outrage… that an accident victim was moved from hospital to hospital, and the medical personnel there refused to treat it as an emergency. It says everything about us as a country. The indiscipline, the disregard for human life, the lack of fellow feeling, that we don’t see that this is a fellow Ghanaian,” he said.

The Majority Leader stressed that the episode highlights entrenched structural challenges within Ghana’s healthcare system, particularly the inefficiencies in emergency medical services and the persistent “no bed syndrome.”

He insisted that such incidents cannot be ignored, and that both accountability and urgent reforms are necessary to prevent future needless deaths.

This comes as Parliament’s Health Committee, directed by Speaker Alban Bagbin, begins examining all documentation from hospitals and the Ministry of Health regarding the case.

Lawmakers are also exploring the need for legislation to regulate emergency care and enforce accountability, aiming to ensure that no citizen is ever denied urgent medical attention again.

The public outcry over Amissah’s death has intensified calls for comprehensive reforms in Ghana’s healthcare infrastructure, with citizens demanding that hospitals be equipped and staffed to respond promptly to emergencies.