Medical Kalabule: Doctors preying on helpless patients in Ghanaian hospitals

Some doctors in Ghana entrusted with saving lives have instead been preying on patients in desperate need of urgent, life-saving surgeries.In a health system already stretched by staff shortages, limited infrastructure and chronic equipment gaps, some surgeons have found a way to turn crisis into profit. The Fourth Estate’s investigation uncovers how patients at Ridge Hospital were allegedly forced to pay inflated prices for surgical supplies, along with so-called “service fees” that did not go to the hospital, but straight into private pockets.When families are racing against time to save loved ones, the pressure to pay is intense and the room to question is almost nonexistent – giving the doctors all the opportunities they need to exploit patients and their families.In this episode, we present the first two parts of our investigative documentary, Medical Kalabule. Produced by Joojo Cobbinah, the documentary exposes how vulnerability in Ghana’s healthcare system has been exploited for gain by the people who have sworn an oath to help the sick and abstain from intentional wrongdoing.