Ridge Hospital Committee Report Dispels Wrist Fracture and Arm Dislocation Claims By “Assaulted” Nurse

The fact-finding committee report on the alleged physical assault of a nurse at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, known as Ridge Hospital, has dispelled claims of wrist fracture and arm dislocation by a staff member.

Excerpts of the 48-page report read out by the chair of the committee during its submission on August 27, 2025, found no evidence of the said injuries as stipulated in her medical records.

“She reported her injury on the 18th {August} and was further treated. There was no evidence of a feature on her left wrist or dislocation of her right shoulder joint as documented in her medical records.”

It however, acknowledged that she had been treated at the time of the investigative team’s visit.

“She had been given some pain relief and been recommended for bed rest and psychological support care.”

Security
Per the findings of the team, the security at the time of the incident was “grossly” inadequate.

“The hospital’s security arrangement of one private security personnel per 12-hour shift at the emergency is inadequate considering the volume of human traffic. A police post situated at the hospital but far from the emergency, is also of concern.”

It reported that the medical facility relies on the Adabraka police for security reinforcement during such violence.

Available Staff
The committee also found that the number of staff on duty per shift at the department was “woefully” inadequate.

“The number of medical officers in the month of August is one doctor per shift, that is, three medical officers per day, who are permanently working in the emergency, supported by one specialist per day. Any other doctor who comes there comes there as a team to attend to cases and go away.”

“A total of seven medical officers and two specialists were available on duty for the month of August as emergency room permanent staff. We also found that out of 88 nursing staff who routinely work at the emergency department every month, only 54 are currently on duty, with about 34 vacating posts for various reasons. This has brought an extreme shortage in the number of nursing staff.”

Other Findings
It also found that the emergency department of the facility was an extremely busy place with a lot of human traffic and clients seeking care at the same time.

Meanwhile, it found an almost 100% occupancy of beds at all times as the facility receives most of the trauma and acute referrals from across the whole region.

Recommendation
In its recommendation, the Committee made a case for the improvement in security presence, installation of CCTV cameras, recruitment of additional clinical staff, provision of imaging services, recruitment of additional administrative managers, building human capacity for emergency care, increasing the level of secondary level facilities in every region, among others.

Receiving the report, the Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, committed to implementing the recommendations to the core.

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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