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Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Health Minister, has said the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) calls for the Ralph Saint Williams and others who assaulted a nurse at Ridge Hospital to be fair.
The Health Minister noted that assault is a crime and that the law must take its course if there is an assault.
Speaking on JoyNEWS, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh narrated the viral video of him exchanging pleasantries with Ralph Saint Williams after the chaos at the Ridge Hospital.
He recounted, “When I visited the place, after the closed-door meeting, and I was walking into my car, he pulled up in a black saloon car, so he got out of the car and came towards me and the medical superintendent at the Ridge Hospital, so he stretched up his hand to greet us, and we exchanged pleasantries.
At that particular moment, we didn’t talk further, and so later we had to invite him to listen to his side of the story”.
When asked about the GRMNA demands for Ralph and others to be arrested, the Health minister added, “It is fair, and I made that call after my visit to the media. I have insisted that the law must take its own course. So, if there is an assault, it is a crime unless you tell me otherwise”.
The Ridge Hospital was thrown into confusion after a self-styled social activist, identified as Ralph St. Williams, stormed the emergency ward and filmed staff while accusing them of delaying treatment for his patient.
In a video that has since gone viral, Ralph is seen with blood on his hands, shouting at doctors and nurses for allegedly ignoring an accident victim he brought in. The footage, which also showed critically ill patients receiving treatment, has sparked concerns about patient privacy and hospital protocols.
According to Ralph, he had waited for over an hour without his ward being attended to. His actions, however, escalated into a heated confrontation, with witnesses reporting that a nurse was assaulted in the process. The hospital later confirmed that the Ghana Police Service had to be called in to restore order.
Additionally, a statement signed by Juliana Hariwa, Head of Public Relations, Ridge Hospital, explained that the incident happened during a period when clinicians were handling multiple emergencies at once. The statement said the activist, together with relatives of the patient, “invaded the emergency triage” in large numbers, disrupting service and creating unnecessary tension.
In addition, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has given the government a 48-hour ultimatum to arrest Ralph Saint Williams and others who assaulted a nurse at Ridge Hospital.
According to GRNMA, the association will advise itself if immediate action is not taken.
Dr David Tenkorang Twum revealed that about eight men physically attacked the Ridge Hospital nurse, leaving her with injuries.
Speaking to the media, Dr David Tenkorang Twum stated, “If anybody can just walk into a facility, like Ridge Hospital, and throw his weight about, and beat like a midwife, and you have other party apparatchiks telling them to edge on, that is unfortunate. We are not happy at all. Our people are traumatised”.
He added, “We are very civilised people. We are professionals. And we are asking the government to arrest the guy immediately and the eight accomplices; we were told there were about 50 guys that day.
But those who laid their hands on the lady there were about eight, including Ralph himself. And therefore, if he’s not arrested within 48 hours, we shall advise ourselves.”
Dr David Tenkorang Twum added, “And we are all guided by law. In that, if you read section 119, subsection 1, it is stated that if you are a worker and you think that your safety is not guaranteed, your life and your health is not guaranteed, you have every right under the law to remove yourself from that danger.
And our people have told us this morning, after interacting with them, that they are not safe. They feel that their safety has been breached.”
In a separate interview, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Health Minister, has given a one-week ultimatum to a committee tasked with investigating the assault on nurses and health professionals at Ridge.
Speaking to Journalists after a meeting with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) on Tuesday, August 19, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh stated, “I was at the hospital yesterday and interacted with the health workers. One of the reasons I went there was to reassure them of our commitment and encourage them to return to the wards.
“They were demoralised, so I had to assure them of a thorough investigation. After my visit, we constituted a committee to investigate the matter within a week, after which the law will take its course,” he stated.
Watch the video below:
Ralph William will be arrested
— Popo🇰🇼🇬🇭 (@Popony_J) August 19, 2025
Nurses protection is Health Minister's priority💚
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