The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has disclosed that disciplinary action against nurses accused of failing to provide care to hit-and-run victim Charles Amissah cannot begin until it receives the official report from the committee that investigated the incident.
The Council said although it has received a directive from the Ministry of Health to sanction the nurses, it requires the findings of the Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa Committee before commencing its disciplinary procedures.
The committee, which investigated circumstances surrounding the death of Charles Amissah, recommended that two nurses — Akosua Turkson and Joy Daisy Nelson — be referred to their respective institutions and the Nursing and Midwifery Council for possible sanctions.
However, Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Philomina Woolley, explained that the Council is yet to receive the full report needed to establish the basis for disciplinary action.
Speaking during a visit by Parliament’s Health Committee, Mrs Woolley said the Council has written back to the Ministry of Health requesting the document.
“We received the letter from the Ministry of Health to sanction the nurses. However, we cannot sanction the nurses without reports from the committee, so we wrote back to the Ministry of Health to furnish us with the reports, and that is where we are. We are yet to receive a response from them.”
She noted that the Council’s disciplinary framework requires evidence and findings from an investigative report before any sanctions can be imposed.
The Chairman of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, expressed optimism that the outstanding document would soon be forwarded to the Council to allow the process to proceed.
According to him, the committee’s report is currently with the Ministry of Health and is being reviewed.
“The committee’s report is with the Ministry of Health; it’s being assessed. There’s a referral to them and very soon the document will get to them. The last time we were with the Medical and Dental Council, they had received it. So I’m hoping that within a matter of time the one involving the nurses will also be received.”
The delay means the NMC is yet to implement the committee’s recommendations, with the Council maintaining that it must first receive the official findings before taking any disciplinary action against the nurses involved.
