Ghana's Medical-Legal Claims Hit GH¢400m in Just Three Years
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is facing a staggering financial burden, with estimated medical-legal claims totalling GH¢400 million over the past three years. These claims were linked to 173 cases recorded between 2023 and 2025, with allegations of medical negligence, wrong or delayed diagnosis, treatment or medication errors, inadequate informed consent, and injury or death allegedly resulting from substandard care.
Rising Medical-Legal Cases Pose Financial and Reputational Risks
The number of cases rose sharply from 40 in 2023 to 44 in 2024 and 89 in 2025, posing significant financial and reputational risks to healthcare delivery. Dr Caroline Reindorf Amissah, Deputy Director-General of the GHS, disclosed this at the opening of a five-day structured legal training programme for legal officers of the GHS in Accra. She said the trend could damage the reputation of health institutions and erode public trust if left unchecked.
According to Dr Amissah, some referral hospitals were increasingly perceived by sections of the public as "death traps" because they frequently received patients with severe conditions. She noted that deaths or poor outcomes at such facilities did not necessarily indicate negligence, as some patients reported to tertiary facilities only after their conditions had significantly deteriorated.
Training Programme Aims to Strengthen Medical-Legal Capacity
The training programme is part of efforts to address the increasing number of medical-legal cases recorded in health facilities. Mr Zanu Dassah, Head of Legal at the GHS, said the Service was developing guidelines for implementation across the health system to ensure a proactive approach to medical-legal issues. "We need to be proactive and ensure that we have proper medical-legal surveillance in the system," he said.
Dr Gina Teddy, a member of the GHS Council, emphasized the importance of complying with legal and ethical standards, governance structures, and administrative procedures. She said healthcare delivery was no longer solely a clinical responsibility, and that patients were now empowered and no longer passive consumers.
Patients' Rights and Education Take Centre Stage
Dr Amissah called for greater public education on the importance of seeking healthcare early to prevent complications and improve treatment outcomes. She urged healthcare workers to respect patients' rights and ensure that proposed treatments and procedures were properly explained to them. She also stressed the need to document patients' decisions where they declined treatment after being adequately informed of the risks and benefits.
Dr Teddy highlighted the growing patient awareness and the need for healthcare institutions and professionals to understand and uphold patients' rights. She said the training would strengthen the capacity of legal officers to identify and manage medical-legal risks before they developed into disputes.
Addressing Preventable Failures Key to Reducing Medical-Legal Claims
Dr Amissah emphasized that the objective of the GHS should not simply be to reduce the number of lawsuits but to identify and address preventable failures that resulted in legitimate claims against the Service. She said the Service was committed to improving healthcare delivery and reducing medical-legal claims by addressing the root causes of these issues.
The GHS's efforts to address medical-legal claims and improve healthcare delivery will be closely watched by the public and healthcare professionals. With the training programme underway, the Service is taking steps to strengthen its medical-legal capacity and reduce the financial burden of medical-legal claims. However, much work remains to be done to address the complex issues surrounding medical-legal claims and improve healthcare delivery in Ghana.
Source: Joy Online
