By Ashiadey Dotse
The Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has been suspended for two weeks following the hospital’s announcement that it would temporarily halt emergency admissions.
The directive was issued by the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, in a letter dated June 5, 2026.
According to the Minister, the suspension takes immediate effect and was deemed necessary because the CEO’s announcement was contrary to directives issued by President John Dramani Mahama.
The letter instructed the KATH Board to suspend the CEO under the provisions of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 526).
“Pursuant to Section 36(1) of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 526), I am respectfully directing the Board to suspend the Chief Executive Officer for a period of two weeks with immediate effect,” the Minister stated.
The suspension follows an announcement made by the hospital on June 3, 2026, indicating that emergency admissions would be suspended due to challenges affecting healthcare delivery at the facility.
Mr Akandoh disclosed that a meeting involving the Ministry’s Chief Director, Technical Adviser and Legal Adviser concluded that the CEO’s actions were inconsistent with the President’s directives.
Beyond the suspension, the Minister has directed the hospital’s Board to conduct a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the announcement, as well as a media interview granted by the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of KATH to Channel One News.
According to the Minister, the Public Affairs Unit also acted contrary to presidential directives by publicly commenting on the suspension of emergency admissions.
He has therefore requested the Board to determine the authority under which the comments were made and whether management approved the interview.
The Minister further directed that appropriate sanctions be imposed if any wrongdoing is established.
The Board has been given two weeks to complete its investigations and submit a report.
The development follows public concern over the temporary suspension of emergency admissions at the Kumasi-based referral hospital, which serves patients across the middle and northern parts of Ghana.
