The recent Ridge Hospital assault has not only stirred public anger but also generated heated political debate within Ghana’s Parliament.
The Chairman of Parliament’s Health Committee, Mark Kurt Nawaane, has weighed in strongly on the matter, stressing that the focus should remain on justice and accountability rather than political blame games.
Addressing the media, Nawaane called on state authorities, particularly the police, to ensure the matter is thoroughly investigated.
He emphasized that various statements had already been issued regarding the assault, including one from the minority side of the Health Committee. According to him, while such condemnations were important, the minority’s handling of the issue introduced unnecessary political undertones.
Nawaane explained that the Minority had referred to one of its members who was reportedly attacked during the Ridge Hospital assault. Their statement also claimed that there was a cordial interaction between the Health Minister and one of the perpetrators.
For Nawaane, this framing required clarification, as it risked painting an incomplete and misleading picture of events.
“I want to explain this and repeat what the Honorable Minister said, that, irrespective of the circumstances, the perpetrators had no right to do what they did. This was a statement from the minister. The verbal communication from the minister. I don’t know why they have decided to ignore this and try to look at the non-verbal communication alone.”
Mark Kurt Nawaane
He maintained that the Health Minister was clear in condemning the violence. By ignoring that explicit condemnation, he argued, critics were misrepresenting the minister’s role and fueling partisanship around an issue that demanded unity.
“But the minister said that, irrespective of the circumstances, he condemns their action. Now, if you go further to paragraph four of the statement that they released, they are saying that they are individuals aligned with, or have a sympathetic relationship to, the National Democratic Congress. I thought that we were united as people to condemn what happened.”
Mark Kurt Nawaane
According to Nawaane, such claims unfairly dragged partisan politics into a matter of professional safety and public confidence in the health sector.
He stressed that the NDC, as well as the Health Minister, had already condemned the assault, making allegations of silence both false and unhelpful.
He also highlighted that the minister had pledged to set up a probe into the incident, further demonstrating commitment to accountability.
This, he argued, reinforced the fact that government action was already underway and that accusations of inaction were baseless.
Health Committee Calls For Police Action on Ridge Hospital Assault
Mark Kurt Nawaane further underscored that the ongoing police investigation should not be undermined. While Parliament’s Health Committee stood firmly with the victims and medical staff affected, law enforcement had the primary duty to ensure justice was served.
“And we are also going to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book. We are calling on the police to issue some form of a statement on how far they’ve gone with their investigations and then their actions. And I hope that our friends in the minority should not be playing politics with the health of the people of this country.”
Mark Kurt Nawaane
He urged unity across political divides, calling on all sides to help identify and address the root causes of the Ridge Hospital assault rather than deepening divisions.
Beyond the immediate calls for justice, Nawaane pointed to systemic issues within Ghana’s health sector as the underlying cause of such tensions. According to him, chronic understaffing and poor working conditions were major contributors to strained relations between patients, their families, and health professionals.
“Let’s unite in this case and ensure that we go to the root cause of this problem. And the root cause of this problem, I know that nobody has spoken about it, but I’ll speak about it. The root cause of this problem is the lack of medical staff, adequate medical staff in the facilities.”
Mark Kurt Nawaane
He explained that the issue was not new, noting that during the eight years of the previous administration, many qualified health workers were left unemployed.
The current numbers, he said, were alarming: about 1,000 doctors, 48,000 nurses, and more than 1,500 pharmacists remain without jobs, alongside tens of thousands of allied health workers.
For Nawaane, it is unrealistic to expect the current government to resolve within eight months a crisis that developed over several years. However, he called for urgency in employing more doctors and nurses to ease the burden on overstretched staff in hospitals and clinics.
“Remember that most of the nurses and doctors are burnt out…they are tired. They are stressed.”
Mark Kurt Nawaane
He cautioned that the long hours endured by health professionals were unsustainable and could only be alleviated by systematically recruiting more personnel into the system.
As the investigation into the Ridge Hospital assault continues, Nawaane’s comments point to a dual responsibility: ensuring justice for the victims of the attack while also addressing the deep-rooted staffing challenges that threaten Ghana’s healthcare system.
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