With immediate effect, the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has instructed the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Board to suspend the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer for two weeks.
The letter, which was written on June 5, 2026, references the CEO’s statement regarding the facility’s suspension of emergency admissions as the grounds for the disciplinary action.
The Minister claimed that the CEO had defied orders given by President John Mahama when he declared the hospital’s emergency admissions to be suspended on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
The letter said, “I am respectfully directing the Board to suspend the Chief Executive Officer for a period of two (2) weeks with immediate effect, for causing to be announced the suspension of admissions of emergency cases to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, pursuant to Section 36 (1) of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 526).”
Moreover, the Health Minister stated that a meeting with the Ministry’s Chief Director, Technical Advisor, and Legal Advisor found the CEO’s actions to be in opposition to the President’s orders.
In addition to the suspension, Mr. Akandoh has instructed the Board to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding both the announcement and a media interview granted by the Head of Public Affairs Unit of KATH to Channel One News.
The Minister stated that the Public Affairs Unit also violated presidential orders by making public statements regarding the suspension of admissions.
“I am also respectfully requesting you to conduct a comprehensive probe to determine the authority under which he made those remarks on Channel One Newsroom.” Additionally, it was a managerial choice for him to give the aforementioned interview. The Minister stated that “the necessary sanctions should be implemented where needed.”
It has been requested that the Board submit a report on its conclusions within two weeks.
The development comes after public worry over the temporary suspension of emergency admissions at the Kumasi referral hospital due to issues impacting healthcare delivery there.
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