Don't scapegoat KATH CEO, fix the mess - Manasseh tells Health Minister

Ace investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni has asked the Minister of Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, to focus on addressing the challenges facing the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) rather than placing all the blame on the CEO.

Manasseh says removing the CEO is not the solution to the issues facing KATH.

"Don't scapegoat the KATH CEO. Fix the mess. Silencing health professionals won't solve the problem," he wrote on Facebook in reaction to the suspension of the CEO of KATH.

Nurses and midwives at KATH in Kumasi have threatened to join an ongoing strike action unless the Health Minister reverses the suspension of the hospital's Chief Executive Officer by 8:00am on Sunday, June 7, 2026.

The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), KATH Branch, issued the ultimatum in a letter dated June 6, 2026, addressed to the Chairman of the KATH Board, expressing solidarity with the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association (KADA) and other health worker organisations already embarked on industrial action.

The association described the two-week suspension of the CEO issued on the directives of the Minister of Health as "unnecessary" and said it was "definitely not the solution" to the enormous challenges confronting the hospital, including infrastructure deficits, congestion, inadequate logistics, and resource constraints.

"Patient safety, quality healthcare delivery and the protection of patients cannot be achieved with the suspension of the CEO," the letter stated, adding that health professionals were already working under extremely difficult conditions.

The GRNMA noted that KATH, as one of Ghana's largest referral and teaching hospitals serving multiple regions, continued to face overwhelming patient numbers that had far outpaced its current infrastructure, equipment, and supplies.

The association put forward three key demands: the Ministry of Health must expedite the operationalisation of long-awaited health facilities intended to decongest KATH; urgent retooling, infrastructural expansion, and adequate resource allocation must be carried out to bring the hospital to the standard of an internationally recognised Centre of Excellence; and the suspension of the KATH CEO must be immediately withdrawn to allow him to manage the hospital and safeguard the wellbeing of both patients and health professionals, particularly those in the emergency department.

"We wish to state categorically that, effective 8:00am 7th June 2026, Nurses and Midwives at KATH will join the strike if the directive from the Honourable Minister for Health is not reversed," the letter warned.

The letter was signed by GRNMA KATH Branch Chairperson Josephine Boatemaa Asmah and Secretary Abraham Adu.

GRNMA KATH branch issues strike ultimatum over Health Minister's suspension of hospital CEO

GRNMA KATH branch issues strike ultimatum over Health Minister's suspension of hospital CEO