Ghana’s healthcare system continues to grapple with a long-standing crisis known as the ‘No Bed Syndrome’, a situation where critically ill or injured patients are turned away from hospitals simply because there are no available beds.
Behind this syndrome are real families forced to watch hope slip away in hospital corridors.
The pain of this crisis was felt again in the recent death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah.
After surviving a hit-and-run accident at the Nkrumah Circle Overpass in Accra, Charles was rushed from one facility to another in a desperate race against time.
He was taken to the Police Hospital, Ridge Hospital, and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, yet each reportedly turned him away due to the unavailability of beds.
For nearly three agonising hours, ambulance personnel pleaded, negotiated and tried to stabilise him as they moved between hospitals. But for Charles’ family, what should have been a story of rescue became one of devastating loss.
He succumbed to his injuries before receiving the urgent care he needed.
For many families across the country, ‘No Bed Syndrome’ is no longer just a systemic failure. It is a source of grief, unanswered questions, and the haunting thought of what might have been.
In this feature article, The Ghana Report highlights some of the notable incidents of no-bed syndrome, which led to the untimely deaths of individuals.
- Man, 70, dies after 7 hospitals allegedly rejected him over lack of beds
In 2018, a 70-year-old man reportedly died in his car at the LEKMA Hospital in Accra after seven hospitals turned him away over claims that there were no beds.
The late Prince Anthony Opoku Acheampong was the CEO of Printhony Printing Press in Adabraka, a suburb of Accra.
His company is reported to be the supplier of stationery for C&J Medicare Hospital, also in Adabraka, where he was first turned away.
According to his son, the father woke up on the day he died, complaining of a headache, and this necessitated the trip to the hospital.
The first hospital they went to, C&J Medicare hospital, was described as their family hospital by the son, but that offered little solace to them.
Over there, a nurse confirmed that Prince Anthony needed to be hospitalised after a brief assessment, but said the hospital could not cater for them.
From there on, the family moved on to the Korle Bu Polyclinic, Ridge Hospital, Police Hospital, the Trust Hospital, the La Polyclinic, before finally arriving at the LEKMA Hospital at Teshie, where Prince Anthony Opoku Acheampong died.
- Angela Afriyie Agyemang’s death at Suntreso Government Hospital
Angela Afriyie Agyemang, a 30-year-old pregnant woman, and her unborn baby died on Wednesday, July 4, 2018, due to inadequate beds at the theatre of Suntreso Government Hospital in Kumasi, Ashanti region.
Initially, when the news broke out, it was alleged that the pregnant woman died after the health facility refused her entry into the labour ward because her husband could not immediately pay a GHS500 ‘Doctor Motivation Fee’.
Later, the medical superintendent of the Suntreso government hospital, Dr Agyarko Poku, speaking in an interview, debunked the allegation made by the deceased’s husband, Pastor Solomon Lamo Lattiff, that doctors at Suntreso Government Hospital told him to pay GHS500 as doctors’ motivation fee.
“I can confirm that the 30-year-old pregnant woman died with her unborn baby on the July 4, 2018 but it is not true that the deceased was denied entry into the labour ward because of GHS500. We don’t have anything like doctor motivation fee as far as health service is concern at Suntreso government hospital. The woman and her unborn baby died due to inadequate beds at the theatre,” Dr. Opoku said.
He added that Suntreso Hospital has only one theatre bed, which was then occupied by a patient who had undergone surgery.
- Loss of patient at Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH)
In April 2025, a patient who was rushed to the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) lost their life due to inadequate beds at the hospital.
According to the management of the hospital, the deceased was referred from another medical facility and required a specialised procedure that is not currently available at the teaching hospital.
Compounding the situation, all four of the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, which serve the entire Northern Ghana region, were fully occupied at the time of the patient’s arrival.
The incident sparked widespread reaction online, with many calling for improved healthcare infrastructure and increased ICU capacity in the northern sector of Ghana.
- Elderly patient dumped in the bush at Gomoa Ojobi
A patient believed to be in her late 60s with POP on her legs in 2024 was dumped in a bush at Gomoa Ojobi by an alleged hospital ambulance driver from Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital in the Central Region.
A source with the Police Service said the victim was on admission and receiving treatment at Winneba Trauma Hospital after being involved in an accident.
Management alleged that the old woman was constantly screaming at night and disturbing patients and staff, so they decided to go out to search for her relatives in an ambulance, but later dumped her in a bush after failing to identify her family members.
Some residents of Gomoa Ojobi said they saw the ambulance driver removing the 60-year-old patient in a wheelchair and dumping her in the bush.
The no-bed syndrome, which is usually experienced in public hospitals, often worsens the conditions of patients and, in some cases, leads to their deaths.
