The growing impasse at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) intensified yesterday as the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) demanded the immediate reinstatement of the hospital’s suspended Chief Executive Officer (CEO), warning that continued confrontations between government and health professionals could destabilise the sector.
The call follows the decision by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, to suspend the KATH CEO for two weeks after management announced a temporary closure of the hospital’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Centre due to severe overcrowding and capacity constraints.
In a statement issued after an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) on Saturday, the GMA described the actions taken by KATH management as a professionally appropriate response aimed at safeguarding patient safety amid overwhelming pressure on the facility.
According to the Association, the temporary suspension of new admissions at the A&E Centre did not amount to abandoning patients but was a carefully coordinated intervention that redirected patients to nearby health facilities while KATH specialists continued to provide support.
“The actions taken by the management of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital were the right and proper professional and administrative decision in line with best practice in patient safety and responsible healthcare leadership across the world,” the statement noted.
The GMA argued that the emergency measures taken by KATH management, together with support from the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate, the Regional Coordinating Council and other healthcare facilities, resulted in a significant decongestion of the emergency centre and enabled admissions to resume within 24 hours.
For that reason, the Association maintained that both the initial query issued to the CEO and the subsequent suspension directive lacked justification.
The Association has therefore called on authorities to withdraw the suspension directive and reinstate the CEO within three working days.
The latest intervention from the GMA comes after the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association (KADA) announced a withdrawal of services in protest against the suspension.
The GMA said it fully supports KADA’s position until the suspension is reversed and measures are implemented to address the chronic pressure on emergency healthcare services in Kumasi.
The dispute has once again drawn national attention to the mounting challenges confronting healthcare delivery in the Ashanti Region.
KATH serves as the main referral hospital for the middle and northern belts of Ghana, receiving patients from more than eight regions. However, healthcare professionals have repeatedly raised concerns over increasing patient numbers, inadequate infrastructure and limited emergency care capacity.
Apart from KATH, the Ashanti Region lacks another major tertiary facility capable of substantially sharing the burden of specialist and emergency care, leaving the teaching hospital under immense strain.
The GMA also expressed what it described as its “utmost displeasure” over the conduct of the Health Minister, accusing him of actions that have directly or indirectly fuelled public hostility towards health workers.
According to the Association, such actions risk undermining morale among healthcare professionals and could contribute to increasing incidents of violence against health workers.
“We call on the Minister to cease these hostile and confrontational actions and engage constructively to ensure improved morale and the continued support of health workers towards achieving objectives of the sector,” the statement said.
The Association further warned that if the situation persists, it may be compelled to take additional measures to prevent what it described as a potential descent of the health sector into chaos.
Meanwhile, the GMA acknowledged ongoing discussions between the KATH Board and the leadership of KADA aimed at resolving the standoff and restoring normal services.
As negotiations continue, the dispute has evolved beyond the suspension of a hospital administrator into a broader debate over emergency healthcare capacity, health worker morale and the long-standing infrastructure deficits confronting one of Ghana’s most important referral hospitals.
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