By Yussif Ibrhaim, GNA
Kumasi, June 8, GNA – The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, has assured the public that efforts to end the strike by health professionals at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) are well advanced, with indications that the workers could return to their posts soon.
Dr. Amoakohene, addressing the media after visiting the facility on Sunday, said stakeholders were engaged in active dialogue to bring the industrial action to a swift end, expressing optimism that a resolution was within reach.
Medical doctors at KATH launched an indefinite withdrawal of services effective 0600 hours on Saturday, June 6, 2026, following the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, by the Minister of Health, Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
The controversy began on June 3, 2026, when KATH management announced a temporary halt to emergency admissions at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Centre, citing severe overcrowding and operational pressures.
The Health Minister subsequently directed the KATH Board to impose a two-week suspension on Dr. Baidoo, describing the decision to halt emergency admissions as contrary to directives from President John Dramani Mahama.
The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) at KATH also issued a notice of industrial action on Saturday, warning that nurses and midwives would join the strike effective 0800 hours on June 7, 2026, if the Health Minister’s directive was not reversed.
Dr. Amoakohene is understood to have been involved in high-level discussions with health authorities, the Hospital board, and labour representatives to find a resolution that would see all health workers return to their posts.
The National Labour Commission (NLC) has also directed the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association (KADA) to immediately call off the strike and has summoned all parties to a formal hearing on June 10, 2026.
Doctors at the facility have indicated that the industrial action would continue until the suspension of the CEO is reviewed and reversed, and until the KATH Board issues clear policies governing the management of situations where emergency capacity is exceeded.
The doctors are also calling on the Ministry of Health to provide clear timelines for the operationalisation of the Sewua Hospital and the Afari Military Hospital, as well as a roadmap for upgrading KATH and other health facilities in the Ashanti Region to ease pressure on the referral centre.
The Regional Minister urged patients and the public to remain calm, assuring them that the welfare of patients remained the top priority of all parties involved in the negotiations.
KATH serves as the principal tertiary referral Hospital for the middle and northern sectors, making the resolution of the dispute a matter of urgent national concern.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Yussif Ibrahim
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