A three-member committee investigating the death of Charles Amissah has concluded that the 29-year-old engineer died from medical neglect rather than the injuries he sustained in a road accident, raising fresh concerns about Ghana’s emergency healthcare system.
Charles Amissah, an employee of Promasidor Ghana Limited, was knocked down in a hit-and-run incident near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Overpass in Accra on February 6, 2026.
Although personnel from the National Ambulance Service responded to the scene and attended to him, reports indicate that he struggled to access emergency medical treatment afterward.
According to findings, several hospitals, including the Police Hospital, Ridge Hospital, and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, reportedly turned him away because of a lack of available beds.
Amissah eventually died while being transported in search of medical care, triggering public outrage and renewed debate over emergency healthcare delivery in Ghana.
The incident led to the formation of a three-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death and assess possible lapses in emergency response procedures.
Chairman of the committee, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, revealed that the autopsy findings showed Amissah could have survived if he had received prompt medical attention.
“The pathology confirms a slow death from medical neglect and not from the instant trauma,” Prof. Akosa stated.
“What it means is that if at any of these facilities there had been medical intervention, Charles Amissah could have survived.”
Prof. Akosa explained that the immediate cause of death was excessive blood loss caused by severe injuries to the upper arm.
“Charles Amissah died of exsanguination — excessive loss of blood — due to an upper right arm bone and soft tissue injury, causing damage to the adductor,” he added.
