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 event 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, Ranking Member of the Health Committee, who introduced the Private Members Motion, requested for a probe into the circumstances surrounding Madam Awortwe's death on January 4, 2022, at the Holy Child Hospital.
He stated she had problems following a caesarean section and was taken to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, despite the fact that the Effia Nkwanta Hospital and the Central Regional Hospital were nearby.
"Mr Speaker, we need to know why it happened, if these two hospitals did not have the competence to deal with the problem... We need to develop a remedy to such issues as a House to avoid them from reoccurring," he continued.
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 just 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.
He stated that the probe into the event will improve the House's supervision and assist in catching public officials who were irresponsible in their jobs.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko, stated that the scenario under discussion was due to the inadequacy of the region's hospitals, necessitating the relocation of the patient to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
According to the report he got from the Takoradi ambulance officer, the ambulance's gasoline allotment was designated for the region, and if they had to transfer patients outside the jurisdiction, they asked fuel help from the families.
"Mr Speaker, I believe the policy vacuum in that area has to be examined and addressed," he stated.