The former Member of Parliament for Sekondi Constituency, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has said that it is unacceptable for anyone to lose their life due to the unavailability of medical equipment that could have prevented such a death.

According to him, while there may have been some negligence on the part of hospital staff and a shortage of essential equipment at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) where the Health Minister, Mintah Akando had a confrontation with a staff over the death of a patient, the mininster's response to the incident was inappropriate.

“It is unfortunate, someone has died due to the absence of a ventilator. That is unacceptable; I agree. But to respond in the manner the Minister did, I don’t think that was appropriate at all,” he stated on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, 24th April.

The MP expressed his concern, lamenting that, “It is disheartening to realise that, as a government or as a people, we do not allocate sufficient resources for the maintenance of public facilities—and it’s not just the hospitals.”

Background

On Monday, the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, paid a surprise visit to the Tamale Teaching Hospital in the Northern Region. His tour of the facility erupted into a heated confrontation with the staff of the hospital, highlighting the facility’s ongoing challenges with non-functional basic medical equipment.

Following this, the Health Minister announced the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, Dr. Adam Atiku.

The Minister confirmed on Joy FM's NewsNight on Tuesday, April 22, that a formal letter had been issued to communicate Dr. Atiku’s termination.

However, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has strongly criticised the developments, describing the treatment of medical staff and the dismissal of the hospital's CEO as unjust and an abuse of power.

Doctors at the facility on Wednesday, April 23, declared an indefinite suspension of all emergency and outpatient services following the brouhaha.