The Greater Accra Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Jefferson Asare, has strongly criticised the Ridge Hospital assault investigation, alleging that the committee ignored key medical evidence by failing to question the doctor who first examined the injured nurse.
The Health Ministry’s investigative committee, led by Dr. Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, concluded in its report that there was no medical proof of dislocation or fracture.
The findings noted that the nurse reported her injuries a day after the alleged assault on August 18, and medical records showed no wrist fracture or shoulder dislocation.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, Asare said the committee completely excluded the medical officer who initially treated Rejoice Tsotso Bortei, a rotation nurse allegedly assaulted at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
“I can say on record that the doctor who saw the lady was not even interviewed during the committee sitting. I know that for a fact because the names that were provided for people that were interviewed are here, and the medical report that was written and stamped—I have it. The doctor’s name is here. That doctor was not interviewed,” he asserted.
The GRNMA Chairman emphasised that the original diagnosis was made not by nurses or the victim herself, but by a senior medical officer at the hospital—a fact confirmed during a meeting with Ridge hospital management.
“The dislocation was not said by any nurse or any other person than the medical director of Ridge Hospital when we met the medical director,” he explained.
He added that “It wasn’t the nurse who diagnosed the dislocation. It was a senior medical officer who saw the lady on Monday morning.”
Asare further questioned why the committee chose to interview heads of departments instead of the doctor who first examined the nurse.
He said “You go and interview the HOD of that department. What account will the HOD give you? You will need to interview the person who had first sight of the lady in question. Did they interview that doctor? No.”
He added that the nurse was initially diagnosed with polycontusion, a medical term for multiple bruises accompanied by pain, redness, and swelling.
He noted that “When we say poly ‘contusion,’ what do we mean? It simply means that there is swelling, there is redness, there is pain at the site of the hit.”
