By: Emmanuel Amoah
The High Court in Accra has ordered Ridge Hospital, Ghana Health Service, and the Ministry of Health to pay damages of GH₵3 million for medical negligence.
The sum was awarded in favor of Mohammed Mustapha, whose wife died at the facility following a caesarean section (C-section) due to the negligence of the hospital staff. She was 32 years old at the time of her death.The Court presided over by Justice Ali Baba Abature, granted the sum after determining that the hospital staff failed to perform their duties properly.The court found that the hospital’s failure to administer a critical medication led to the woman’s death.
The woman, a 32-year-old nurse, died in 2019 after undergoing a caesarean section at Ridge Hospital. The court heard that the hospital’s negligence breached the National Health Policy and Ghana’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals on Maternal Health and Mortality.
The Defendants acknowledged that the Plaintiff’s now-deceased wife was an outpatient at the 4th Defendant’s health facility, where she received antenatal care from about July 2019 until December 13, 2019.
The scan on the deceased revealed “severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)” with “abnormal umbilical artery Doppler,” which required urgent delivery through C-section. After delivery, the baby had “severe respiratory difficulties” and was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where it unfortunately passed away after 35 minutes.
The deceased also died 24 hours after the C-section from “Pulmonary embolism.” The Defendants asserted that the 4th Defendant had a pre-operation and post-operation management plan in place, which included the administration of certain prescribed medications, including an anticoagulant called FRAGMIN, which was not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
However, the prescribed anticoagulant was not procured by the deceased or her relatives. Despite this, staff of the 4th Defendant administered anticoagulant medication borrowed from another patient after observing the deceased’s breathlessness.
The defendants argued that they were not negligent, but the court disagreed, stating that the hospital owed a duty of care to include all necessary safety measures in the management plan.
The court awarded the said amount in damages, citing the devastating consequences of the hospital’s negligence.
This landmark case highlights the importance of medical accountability and the need for healthcare providers to prioritize patient safety.
