Midwife to Face NMC Questioning Over TikTok Livestream of Distressed Pregnant Patient

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is expected to invite a midwife for questioning next week over a controversial TikTok livestream that showed a pregnant patient visibly distressed, sparking public outrage over patient privacy and professional conduct.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Tony Goodman, confirmed that the Council is following up on the incident and will engage the midwife to establish the circumstances surrounding the livestream. In a Facebook statement, he said: "The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is following up on the matter concerning this midwife. I am reliably informed that she is expected to be invited by the Council next week for further engagement."

How the Incident Unfolded

The controversy emerged after a Facebook user, Dickson Assan, reported the incident to the Ghana Health Service, explaining that he had come across the livestream in the early hours of the day. According to Assan, the broadcast showed a pregnant woman who appeared to be in considerable pain and distress while receiving medical attention .

He alleged that the person hosting the livestream, believed to be a midwife, was seen massaging the woman's back in what appeared to be an attempt to comfort her, while simultaneously broadcasting the situation to TikTok viewers. The livestream reportedly attracted disturbing reactions from some viewers, with several making inappropriate comments and mocking the interaction .

Assan further claimed that when a viewer raised concerns about the decision to broadcast a vulnerable patient's condition, other participants responded with insults instead of addressing the issue. He also alleged that the midwife displayed a Mobile Money number during the broadcast and appealed for financial contributions from viewers while the pregnant woman remained in distress .

"At what point did patients become content for social media engagement and fundraising? Are we gradually losing our sense of professionalism, compassion and respect for human dignity, all in the name of creating social media content?" Assan wrote. "A pregnant woman in distress is not entertainment. A patient seeking medical attention is not content for TikTok engagement."

A Breach of Established Ethical Standards

The incident has brought renewed attention to Ghana's existing frameworks for patient confidentiality. The Ghana Health Service Code of Ethics explicitly states that all service personnel "shall respect confidential information obtained in the course of their duties" and shall not disclose such information without patient consent except where required by law . The GHS Patients' Charter likewise guarantees the right to privacy during consultation, examination and treatment, and entitles patients to confidentiality of information obtained about them .

Under Ghanaian law, the 1992 Constitution guarantees the right to privacy, while the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) classifies health information as special personal data that cannot be processed or published without the data subject's consent . The Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851) further recognises the patient's right to privacy during treatment and requires consent before patient information may be used for teaching or related purposes .

The NMC's forthcoming engagement with the midwife is expected to determine whether the livestream constituted a breach of these professional and legal obligations. The incident has ignited a broader conversation about healthcare workers' use of social media and the need to protect patients' dignity when they are at their most vulnerable.