The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has directed the Board of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to suspend the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer for two weeks with immediate effect.
The suspension follows the CEO’s decision to announce a halt to the admission of emergency cases at the hospital on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 — an action the Minister described as a direct contravention of presidential directives.
In a letter addressed to the Board Chairman of KATH, the Minister invoked Section 36 (1) of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 526) as the basis for the directive.
“The Chief Executive admitted before me on [Thursday] June 4, 2026 that he acted contrary to the clear directives of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana by that said announcement,” the letter stated.
The CEO is required to report to the Minister upon the expiry of the two-week suspension.
The meeting at which the CEO’s admission was made was attended by the Chief Director, the Technical Advisor, and the Legal Advisor to the Minister, according to a statement from the Ministry.
Beyond the CEO’s suspension, the Minister has also flagged the conduct of the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of KATH, who granted an interview to Channel One Newsroom on the matter of the suspension of emergency admissions.
The Minister described that interview as equally contrary to the President’s directives, and has directed the Board to investigate on what authority the Head of Public Affairs made those comments, and whether the interview was sanctioned as a management decision.
Appropriate sanctions are to be applied where necessary.
The Board has been given two weeks to submit a report to the Minister on the outcome of that investigation.
The suspension and investigation order has been copied to the Deputy Minister of Health, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, and the Technical Advisor to the Ministry.