Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, a prominent US-based Ghanaian physician and former New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, has voiced sharp criticism regarding the findings of the Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa Committee. While acknowledging the committee’s effort, Dr Kennedy argues that blaming a handful of frontline workers for the death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah ignores a "longstanding systemic failure" within Ghana’s healthcare sector.

In a statement released on May 8, 2026, Dr. Kennedy contended that the tragic loss of life was not an anomaly but rather the predictable outcome of a broken institutional culture.

A Decades-Old Crisis

Dr Kennedy pushed back against the notion that the committee’s findings revealed anything new.

He pointed out that the infamous “no-bed syndrome” has plagued the nation for decades, predating even Prof Akosa’s previous leadership as Director-General of the Ghana Health Service.

“The idea that the findings of the committee are new is astonishing,” Dr Kennedy remarked, characterizing the crisis as a product of institutional neglect that successive governments have failed to dismantle.

The committee was formed to investigate the February 6, 2026, death of Mr Amissah, who died in an ambulance after being refused emergency care at the Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Despite arriving alive at all three facilities, he was denied treatment due to claimed bed shortages. 

Prof Akosa’s report concluded that Amissah died of avoidable blood loss caused by “medical neglect.”

Questioning Accountability

While the Akosa report recommended disciplinary action against three doctors and three triage nurses, Dr Kennedy argued this approach scapegoats frontline staff while shielding those at the top.

“The idea that three bad doctors and three bad triage nurses in three of our best hospitals just happened to be at work on this particular day beggars belief,” Kennedy stated.

He maintained that these professionals were merely functioning within a system that has “normalised delayed emergency care, weak triage systems, and poor institutional compassion.”

On the day of the accident, he argued, the healthcare system functioned exactly as it was designed: “inefficiently and without compassion.”

The Call for Structural Reform

Dr Kennedy took aim at generations of political leaders, accusing them of maintaining both the “no-bed syndrome” and the “cash-and-carry” culture. He called for several specific reforms to prevent future tragedies:

- Ambulance Service Overhaul: Eliminating the practice of demanding fuel money during emergencies and ensuring all units are staffed with trained emergency medical technicians.

- National Health Reform Law: Legislation that compels every hospital to be fully prepared for common emergencies such as trauma, strokes, and heart attacks.

- Administrative Accountability: Holding senior administrators and political leaders responsible for the lack of equipment and beds, rather than focusing solely on those at the bedside.

Dr Kennedy noted that in countries like Spain and Portugal, such failures lead to accountability at the highest political levels.

He expressed hope that the committee's recommendations would be implemented but warned that without addressing the root causes, the cycle of tragedy would continue.

“When these are done,” he concluded, “hopefully, our leaders will abandon the practice of heading abroad whenever they are sick.”