Parliament To Probe Death Of Woman Over Ambulance Service ‘Negligence’
Augustina Awortwe died in an ambulance while being carried from the Holy Child Catholic Hospital in Fijai in the Western Region to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. Parliament has formed a six-member bipartisan committee to investigate her tragedy.
The Committee has up to five weeks to investigate the incident and report to the House on its findings.
Dr. Nana Afriyie-Ayew, Member of Parliament (MP) for Affiduase-Asokore, Madam Patricia Appiagyei, MP for Asokwa, and others make up the six-member committee.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, MP, Techiman North, Mr Patrick Boamah, MP, Okaikoi Central, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, MP, Juaboso, Dr Sebastian Sandare, MP, Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, and Mr Patrick Boamah, MP, Okaikoi Central
Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Ranking Member of the Health Committee who introduced the Private Members Motion, requested an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Madam Awortwe’s death at the Holy Child Hospital on January 4, 2022.
He said she had problems following a cesarean section and was referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, even though the Effia Nkwanta Hospital and the Central Regional Hospital were nearby.
“Mr. Speaker, we have to know why that happened, if it is the case that these two hospitals did not have the capacity to handle such situation… as a House, we need to find an antidote to such problems to prevent their re-occurrence,” he added.
Mr. Akandoh stated that before the ambulance left for Cape Coast, the crew phoned the woman’s husband to demand GH600 for gasoline, but the “husband struggled to pay them only GH50, which caused delays and subsequently her death in the ambulance.”
Seconding the motion, the Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, urged the House to take such matters seriously and to respond to the demands of the people, particularly in regard to the protection of women and children.
