Jefferson Asare, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), has revealed that Rejoice Tsotso Bortei, the assaulted Ridge Hospital nurse, is still hospitalised.
According to Jefferson Asare, there is something fishy about the investigation committee set up by the Health Minister.
He accused the investigative committee of failing to act in accordance with its mandate.
Speaking in an interview with Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Asare stated, “What is happening is demoralising our nurses. When you come on our platforms across Ghana, our nurses are demoralised, and it is very risky and very serious for Ghana”.
“We suspect that something fishy happened with the investigation because the nurse in question is still on admission at the hospital. So, if it was due to pain, what caused that pain? If you haven’t been attacked, how would you suffer pain?” he questioned.
He declared, “We reject the report by the investigative committee because it did not capture the real issues. It is full of twisted facts and narratives that do not support what occurred on the day of the incident.”
Jefferson Asare, in a separate interview, insisted that the Ridge Hospital nurse was diagnosed with polycontusion.
The GRNMA Accra Regional Chairman disputed aspects of the ministerial committee’s report on the Ridge Hospital assault.
According to Jefferson Asare, the committee failed to speak to the doctor who initially assessed the injured nurse.
Speaking on Channel One TV in reaction to the committee’s final report, Jefferson Asare stated, “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”.
“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. “It wasn’t the nurse who diagnosed the dislocation. It was a senior medical officer who saw the lady on Monday morning.”
He further questioned the committee’s rationale behind the committee’s choice of interviewees.
He added, “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.”
“The diagnosis of the lady at the time was polycontusion. When we say polycontusion, what do we mean? It simply means that there is redness, there is swelling, and pain at the site of the hit. That is when you diagnose somebody with polycontusion,” he explained.
He further queried, “So do they want to tell us that the doctor who did the diagnosis doesn’t know what he or she is doing? Is that what the committee wants to tell us?”.
Meanwhile, the committee set up by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has shockingly revealed that the Ridge Hospital nurse suffered no fracture or shoulder dislocation.
According to the committee, there was no medical evidence to support the claims that nurse Rejoice Tsotso Bortei claims.
Dr. Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, the Chairman of the Committee, added that the alleged victim reported her injuries on August 18, but there were no signs of a fracture in her left wrist or a dislocation in her right shoulder joint.
The committee added that the nurse was treated and given pain relief medication.
Presenting its report to the Health Minister, Dr Lawrence Ofori-Boadu stated, “Rejoice Tsotso Bortei, who is a rotation nurse, reported her injury to the hospital a day after the incident on the 18th of August and was further treated. There was no evidence of fracture on her left wrist or dislocation of her right shoulder joint as documented by the medical records.
“She has, however, been treated and given pain relief, recommended for bed rest, and received psychological support care,” the committee stated.
The committee’s findings directly contradict claims by the nurse that she was assaulted and left with a dislocation.