Doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) are reportedly considering industrial action following the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, over the temporary halt of emergency admissions at the facility.
Sources within KATH have told Citi News that dissatisfaction among medical personnel is growing, raising the possibility of a strike.
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is expected to convene on Saturday, June 6, to assess the situation and decide on the appropriate response.
The tension follows a directive from the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, instructing the KATH Board to suspend Dr Baidoo for two weeks with immediate effect.
In a letter dated June 5, 2026, the minister stated that the CEO’s decision to announce a temporary suspension of emergency admissions contradicted instructions issued by President John Dramani Mahama.
However, labour unions at the hospital have strongly defended Dr Baidoo, insisting that the move was not his sole decision.
According to them, the temporary measure formed part of a coordinated strategy involving health authorities aimed at easing severe overcrowding and operational challenges at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Centre.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Friday, June 5, Chairman of the Komfo Anokye Doctors’ Association (KADA), Dr Michael Leat, revealed that various unions within the hospital would soon meet to determine their collective response.
“All the unions in KATH will be meeting, and in due course, you will hear our response. It will be a firm one, and we will communicate our position to the health ministry without any sentiment,” he stated.
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Dr Leat also questioned why disciplinary action had been directed solely at the hospital’s CEO when the decision involved several stakeholders within the healthcare system.
“This was a decision taken by the Ashanti Regional Health Administration, KATH, and other hospitals. Why then is only one person being suspended?” he asked.
He further stressed that frontline healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, supported the temporary suspension of emergency admissions as the most practical solution under the prevailing circumstances.
“We, as healthcare professionals directly involved in patient care, believed that was the most appropriate decision to make,” he explained.
The controversy began on June 3 when KATH announced a temporary suspension of emergency admissions at its A&E Centre due to overwhelming congestion and increasing operational pressures.
The decision sparked widespread concern because of the hospital’s vital role as a major referral centre serving the Ashanti Region and several other parts of Ghana.
Since Dr Baidoo’s suspension, sections of the medical community have voiced strong opposition to the decision.
With hospital unions expected to declare their official position after Saturday’s meeting, attention is now focused on whether the dispute could escalate into industrial action and potentially affect healthcare services at one of the country’s busiest referral hospitals.
Source: citinewsroom.com