The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Daquah, has described the recent hit-and-run death of an engineer with Promasidor, Charles Amissah, as a “microcosm” of a systemic emergency crisis that continues to fail Ghanaians during their most vulnerable moments.
Speaking during a high-profile JoyNews dialogue on Ghana’s emergency services on Thursday, 2nd April 2026, Dr Ayensu-Daquah delivered an assessment of the nation’s trauma response, arguing that the ‘Golden Hour’—the critical first 60 minutes following an injury—is being squandered by poor communication and varying levels of paramedic capacity.
The ‘Golden Hour’ defined
At the heart of the minister’s intervention was the medical concept of the Golden Hour. In trauma medicine, this refers to the sixty-minute window starting from the moment of impact.
“In trauma, we have something called the Golden Hour. That is the first hour of injury… the time of the injury to the first 60 minutes,” Dr Ayensu-Daquah explained. “Decisions we make during the Golden Hour would determine whether the person lives or dies.”
Regarding the case of Charles Amissah, who tragically succumbed to his injuries after a hit-and-run incident, the minister noted that despite an ambulance being remarkably close to the scene, the system failed to capitalise on this proximity.
“In this case, you see that a lot of the issues were missed during that first Golden Hour,” she stated.
Pre-hospital care: More vital than the hospital?
Dr Ayensu-Daquah broke down emergency care into three distinct phases, but argued that the “pre-hospital” phase is often the most neglected yet most important. This stage includes everything from the initial distress call to the treatment provided inside the ambulance.
The minister identified three critical “tentacles” of the pre-hospital failure, highlighting a persistent national issue in coordinating between accident sites, dispatch centres, and receiving hospitals.
She pointed out the varying skill sets of personnel on board. In Ghana, crews are categorised as basic, intermediate, or advanced.
She further asked whether the specific team on-site can perform life-saving interventions.
“Are they able to do CPR? Are they able to start IVs? Are they able to give oxygen?” she questioned.
The luck of the draw
The minister noted that in the Amissah tragedy, the victim was “lucky” in one sense: a physical ambulance was nearby.
However, she suggested that proximity alone is insufficient if the staff configuration, whether it be “two basics” or “one advanced” paramedic, is not optimised for high-intensity trauma.
“Pre-hospital care is even more important than the hospital care itself,” she asserted, highlighting that if a patient is not stabilised correctly before reaching a facility, even the best surgeons may be unable to save them.
A call for proactive reform
Dr Ayensu-Daquah’s remarks signal a potential shift in the Ministry’s focus toward strengthening the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and ensuring that every crew dispatched has the advanced training necessary to manage complex trauma during that ticking 60-minute clock.
As the family of Charles Amissah seeks answers, the Health Ministry faces a task to ensure that the ‘Golden Hour’ is no longer a matter of luck, but a guaranteed standard of Ghanaian healthcare.
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