Doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi have commenced a total withdrawal of services following the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer by the Minister of Health.
The Komfo Anokye Doctors Association (KADA) announced the industrial action in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the KATH Board, Nana Professor Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, disclosing that the strike took effect at 6:00am on Saturday, June 6.
The action follows an emergency meeting of KADA held on Friday, June 5 at which members evaluated recent developments at the hospital, including the suspension of the CEO by Health Minister A. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh over the temporary halt on new emergency admissions announced on June 3, 2026.
KADA members were unanimous in their support of the management decision to temporarily halt new emergency admissions, describing it as a necessary clinical and administrative intervention to prevent avoidable loss of life amid severe capacity constraints at the Emergency Department.
“Actions undertaken by management aimed at addressing serious patient care challenges and ensuring patient and caregiver safety have rather resulted in disciplinary sanctions against the Chief Executive Officer,” the association stated.
The doctors condemned the Minister’s suspension of the CEO as unjustified and counterproductive, arguing that the decision penalised a healthcare leader for attempting to manage the consequences of longstanding systemic failures.
KADA set out three conditions that must be met before the industrial action is called off.
First, the suspension of the CEO must be reviewed and reversed.
Second, the Board must issue clear policies on the management of situations where the hospital’s emergency capacity has been exceeded, including explicit guidance on patient overflow and the circumstances under which admissions may be restricted in the interest of patient safety.
Third, the Ministry of Health must provide clear timelines for the operationalisation of the Sewua Hospital and Afari Military Hospital, as well as timelines for the retooling of KATH and other hospitals within the Ashanti Region.
The Association noted that KATH serves as the principal tertiary referral hospital for the middle and northern sectors of Ghana, and continues to operate under significant infrastructural limitations despite an ever-increasing patient load.
KADA stressed that the current crisis reflects systemic challenges requiring urgent policy and infrastructure solutions, and called on the Board to urgently engage the Ministry of Health and all relevant stakeholders to achieve an amicable resolution.
“This action is not intended to undermine healthcare delivery but rather to draw urgent national attention to issues of patient and caregiver safety, clinical governance, professional accountability, and the sustainability of healthcare services at Ghana’s second-largest teaching hospital,” the Association said.