Ridge Hospital Begins Probes Into ‘Alleged Death’ Of Woman At Facility

Management of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, also known as Ridge Hospital says it is probing the circumstances under which a patient died on the evening of June 25, 2020, while receiving treatment at the facility.

The patient in question is a 48-year-old woman said to have been wrongly medicated.

Her husband, Emmanuel Kuto, the Director of the Ghana Institute of Languages, who broke the news on social media described some staff of the Hospital as callous.

He had taken to Facebook to express what he said was the “impunity” and “total disregard for accountability” displayed by some staff of the hospital.

But the hospital authorities say they are taking appropriate steps to expeditiously bring finality to the matter.

“Management will like to assure the public that, with a matter of urgency, an investigation has been instituted into this unfortunate incident in order to establish events leading to the sad situation. The findings of the investigations would be shared with all stakeholders”, the hospital’s Medical Supretenidnt, Dr. Emmanuel K. Srofenyoh noted in a statement.

While commiserating with the widower and the bereaved family, the hospital says it will continue to prioritize the health and safety of its clients.

“We will like to assure you that we will continue to provide quality health care to the people of this country and beyond. Mahameneht would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the husband and family.” Open-door policy

Lately, the Ridge Hospital has gained notoriety over claims of medical negligence.

The Hospital is already facing a GHS 5 million lawsuit for possible negligence from a man whose wife and baby died at the hospital.

However, the management has asked the clients who seek healthcare at the facility not hesitate to report any issue in line with its ‘open-door’ policy.

The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge practices an open-door policy and we encourage our clients to report any misgiving or seek clarity on any clinical procedure with the Customer Service or Public Relations Units for proper Management response.

Mr. Kuto’s experience

The cause of the death of Mr. Kuto's wife is yet to be established but he has requested and paid for an autopsy.

He detailed his experience in a long post on Facebook, noting that: “A lady in the ward told me she collapsed and died. Just like that.”

Mr. Kuto recalled that amidst all this, there were discussions around him by the health workers pointing towards the administration of wrong medication.

“That is what I heard the doctors say. I was standing right there when they were talking. That is what I heard them say.”

But a source of frustration for him has been the lack of transparency. “Nobody bothered to speak to me or explain anything to me so I was just standing there in the dark.”

He also hasn't heard from the hospital's medical director following the death.

“Since yesterday I have been in a state of paralysis; like in a trance. I can barely think straight. We are very traumatized.”

The next step for him, he said, was unravelling the cause of death, but “they are yet to give me a date when they will do the autopsy.”

---citinewsroom