The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, has distanced the Parliamentary Health Committee from comments by its Chairman, Mark Kurt Nawaane, suggesting that health workers who cannot cope with the demands of the profession should resign.
Dr. Agyemang described the remarks as “unfortunate” and warned that such comments risk demoralising already overstretched health professionals who are working under difficult conditions within Ghana’s healthcare system.
His comments follow public reactions over the death of Charles Amissah, a 29-year-old engineer who reportedly died after being turned away by multiple hospitals in Accra during a medical emergency, allegedly due to unavailability of beds.
Addressing the media after receiving findings from a three-member investigative committee chaired by Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosah, Mr. Nawaane had urged medical professionals who are unable to cope with the pressures of the job to step aside.
“If you are a medical professional and you are tired of the work, you probably have to resign,” he stated.
The committee had also recommended disciplinary action against some health workers over alleged professional breaches in the handling of the emergency case.
However, speaking in an interview, Dr. Agyemang said the Chairman’s comments do not represent the position of the Parliamentary Health Committee as a whole.
According to him, the remarks reflect the personal opinion of the Chairman and some majority members, and not a collective bipartisan position of the committee.
“It is unfortunate that the Chairman was in a hurry to make comments without evaluating the impact such remarks could have on the morale of health workers,” he said.
“His views do not reflect the position of the entire Health Committee. They are his personal views and those of the majority side.”
Dr. Agyemang further argued that frontline health workers should not be blamed for systemic challenges within the country’s emergency healthcare system.
He noted that many professionals continue to improvise under difficult conditions due to inadequate infrastructure, congestion, weak referral systems, and resource constraints.
“Why should health workers who are improvising daily to save lives because of systemic failures bear the brunt of a sick healthcare system?” he questioned.
The controversy has reignited debate over Ghana’s long-standing “no-bed syndrome,” where emergency patients are reportedly turned away due to lack of capacity. The phenomenon has previously been linked to several preventable deaths.
Health professional bodies, including the Ghana Medical Association and the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, have repeatedly called for reforms, citing infrastructure gaps, poor coordination, and inadequate staffing.
Dr. Agyemang stressed that attention should be focused on strengthening and redesigning the emergency healthcare system rather than blaming frontline workers operating under pressure.
