A health advocate, Dr Thomas Anaba, has called for the swift prosecution of medical officers at the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital in the Central Region, who are accused of abandoning a woman in a bush instead of providing her with the necessary medical care.

His call comes after the Health Minister directed that the affected staff should be reported to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the police and the Attorney General for further action.

This follows the conclusion of investigations by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) into the incident which concluded that the employees identified as having contributed to the planning, and evacuation of the patient from the hospital to Gomoa Ojobi in the Central Region, where she was abandoned until her death, "did not act appropriately."

The said staff are six in number and they were involved in the discharge of the patient.

The patient believed to be in her late 60s with POP on her legs was dumped in a bush at Gomoa Ojobi.

• Read also: Elderly patient allegedly dumped in bush at Gomoa Ojobi

According to reports, this was done by an alleged hospital ambulance from the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital.

• Read also: Health Minister orders arrest of Winneba Hospital staff who abandoned patient in bush

In response to this, Dr Anaba who is also the Executive Director of the African Center for Health Policy and Analysis says though he doubts the outcome of the CID’s yet-to-be-conducted investigations he wants all those involved prosecuted to serve as a deterrent.

“I am however not happy about the way the administrative staff have not been penalized by the Ghana Health Service and the Minister of Health for administrative misconduct. This punishment can be meted out separately from the criminal misconduct that can be proven by a court of competent jurisdiction. We should have been told that the staff who were involved in this matter, have been punished in a way for them to know that you can’t just do anything as a manager and go free.

"They should be investigated and taken to court quickly for them to be exonerated. I do not see anything going forward. I expect the Ghana health service to come out with the needed punishment for professional and administrative misconduct of those who were involved in this crime,” he said.