Former Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Justice Yankson, has called for the immediate prosecution of individuals involved in the recent assault on a medical practitioner at the Accra Ridge Hospital.
“We all saw the nurse and what happened to her. We heard her account; she was physically attacked. On that basis, whoever is involved should be in court by now,” he said.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, Dr Yankson expressed concern that the alleged perpetrators have not yet been put before the court.
He warned that failure to enforce the law in such cases undermines public confidence in the justice system and poses a grave threat to healthcare delivery.
“If people are let off the hook, then such abuses will continue to persist. The impunity with which people do things will continue,” he stressed.
Dr Yankson emphasised that while every citizen has the right to seek medical care, that right must not translate into abuse of health professionals.
“Your right to seek healthcare does not mean that, in the process, you will unleash all kinds of assault on the professional, whether verbal, physical, or emotional abuse,” he argued.
He reiterated that violence against health workers is unacceptable and called for swift, decisive legal action to protect medical professionals and uphold the rule of law.
Background
The assault occurred after a viral video showed relatives of an accident victim physically attacking staff in Ridge Hospital’s emergency department.
In response, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh visited the hospital to reassure healthcare workers, ordered tightened security, and launched an investigation.
A one-week committee has been tasked with probing the incident, administratively by the Ministry and criminally by the police, with public assurances that the law will take its course.
Arrests have already been confirmed, though details of suspects, including whether Ralph St. Williams, the instigator, is among them, remain undisclosed.
Source: Albert Kuzor
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