Former Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Fiifi Boafo, has called for a balanced approach of systemic reforms and individual accountability following the release of the investigative report into the death of Charles Amissah.

Speaking on the AM Show on Friday, May 8, Mr Boafo said that while structural weaknesses in Ghana’s healthcare system must be urgently addressed, the conduct of individuals involved in the incident should also be scrutinised.

“The government decided to launch an investigation into what happened,” he said. “What we do not expect is to have the report be on the shelves gathering dust, but rather to see action out of it, so we do not have a repeat of what happened.”

His remarks come amid public concern over the circumstances surrounding Mr Amissah’s death and renewed calls for reforms in Ghana’s emergency healthcare system, particularly in the handling and admission of critically injured patients.

Reacting to a statement from the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Mr Boafo acknowledged the importance of addressing broader systemic challenges but maintained that individual responsibility must not be ignored.

“I've read the statement that was issued by the GMA, and even though I agree to an extent that the focus must not be on the individuals because beyond them there are all those structural arrangements within our health sector delivery that lead to some of these things happening,” he stated.

“We must address that; it's important, but I also think that we cannot leave the people whose actions led to this happening; we cannot entirely leave them out. It must serve as a deterrent to others.”

He warned that focusing solely on institutional reforms without sanctioning negligence could weaken future accountability within the health system.

“If we just say that, well, the structure as we have it leads to things like this happening, so let us tackle the structures, what would happen in the future is that no matter how well you build the structures, if the individuals who are supposed to get the structures running fail to do what is expected of them, we shall have a situation like this happening,” he added.

Meanwhile, presenting the findings of the investigative committee, Chairman Agyeman Badu Akosa said Mr Amissah died from severe blood loss caused by a deep injury to the upper arm, which damaged major blood vessels.