Prime News Ghana

‘No bed syndrome’: Family of 70-yr old man to sue MoH and 7 hospitals?

By Kweku Antwi Jnr
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The family of the 70-year old man, Anthony Opoku-Acheampon, who died in his car after the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) Hospital in the Greater Accra Region and six other hospitals, also in Accra, refused to admit him due to lack of beds is considering legal actions against the Ministry of Health (MoH).

The family the legal actions may also be taken against all the seven hospitals, the Ministry of Health and its allied, the Ghana Health Service.

The son of the late Opoku-Acheampong, Ishmael Opoku, who made this revelation in an interview with Prime News Ghana on Saturday, ahead of the one-week commemoration on Sunday, June 17, 2018, said, the family is awaiting the arrival of the family lawyer from the United Kingdom (UK), so that he can advise them on what to do.

He said the lawyer told them he would arrive on Saturday before the one-week on Sunday so the family will meet and seek his legal advice and opinion on the case before the one-week commemoration.

The one week commemoration of a 70-year old man will be held on Sunday, June 17, 2018.

 According to the son of the deceased, Ishmael Opoku, the one week event will be held at the late father’s residence at Awoshie in the Ga Central Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.

The one week commemoration is in line with Akan tradition where the date and the venue for the final funeral rite will be announced.

The 70-year old man, Anthony Opoku-Acheampon, died in his car after LEKMA hospital and six other hospitals refused to admit him due to lack of beds.

 The son of the deceased, Ishmael Opoku, irrespective of the fact that he was willing to pay for his father’s treatment, all the hospitals he visited refused to attend to him or even provide the sick man with first aid.

The incident, he said, happened on June 3, 2018 when he received a phone call from his mother to come home and assist in taking his father to the hospital because he was complaining of a headache and dizziness.

At midnight, Mr Opoku and his mother drove his father to the C&J Hospital at Adabraka where the nurse turned them away with the no bed excuse without even administering first aid.

They left C& J Hospital to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where the same excuse of no bed was cited. From Korle Bu, they made trips to Korle Bu Polyclinic, the Accra Regional Hospital, the Police Hospital and the LEKMA Hospital where his father eventually died.

All the hospitals they visited turned him away over claims that there was no bed.

At the LEKMA hospital, Mr Opoku recalls his mother knelt before a doctor and pleaded that his father be attended to but the doctor refused to take care of him insisting there was nothing he could do.

Mr Acheampon died in his son’s car after all attempts to get him medical treatment failed.

An emotional Mr. Opoku wondered why the medical officers did not even bother to examine his father to find out what was wrong with him.

He said he was highly disappointed in Ghana’s health system and was considering travelling abroad to join his siblings.

He noted that despite the fact that his father had religiously made numerous donations to some of these hospitals when he was alive; the same facilities failed him when he needed them most.

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