The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) has inaugurated Quality Management Teams across its Sub-Budget Management Centres (Sub-BMCs) to strengthen accountability, address concerns over staff attitudes and improve the quality of healthcare delivery.
The initiative comes amid growing public concerns about alleged medical negligence, delays in emergency treatment and unprofessional conduct among some healthcare workers, issues that continue to undermine confidence in Ghana’s healthcare system.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Chief Executive Officer of TTH, Dr (Med) Abubakari Bawah Abdulai, said although the hospital continued to receive positive feedback about the clinical competence of its healthcare professionals, there was a pressing need to improve how staff treated patients and interacted with the public.
He said feedback from patients and members of the public suggested that healthcare workers were making significant clinical contributions but that their professional competence must be matched by better attitudes and improved patient experiences.
“People tell me your staff are making an impact on the patients,” he said, stressing that the hospital must pay greater attention to staff attitudes at the workplace.
Dr Abdulai acknowledged the increasing pressure on healthcare workers resulting from the growing number of patients seeking services at the facility but urged all categories of staff to maintain professionalism and uphold acceptable standards of conduct despite the demands of their work.
His concerns come against the backdrop of several high-profile cases that have intensified scrutiny of patient care and professional accountability in Ghana’s health sector.
In May 2026, a six-member investigative committee established by the Ministry of Health concluded that 29-year-old Charles Amissah died from medical neglect after being turned away or inadequately attended to at three major hospitals in Accra.
The committee found that the patient, who sustained injuries in a hit-and-run accident, was not given essential emergency interventions, including measures to control bleeding and stabilise his condition, despite remaining alive throughout the referral process.
It recommended disciplinary action against the affected medical personnel and called for reforms to strengthen emergency healthcare delivery.
The concerns are also reflected in figures released by the Medical and Dental Council in July 2026. The Council’s Registrar, Dr Divine Banyubala, disclosed that 31 disciplinary cases involving 46 medical practitioners were before its disciplinary committee, with 64 per cent relating to allegations of medical negligence.
Separately, the Ghana Health Service disclosed in August that medical-legal claims against the Service and health facilities had reached an estimated GH¢400 million, arising from 173 cases recorded between 2023 and 2025. The cases involved allegations of negligence, delayed or incorrect diagnoses, medication and treatment errors, and other failures in patient care.
Tamale Teaching Hospital itself has previously faced public scrutiny over allegations of negligence following a patient’s death at its Accident and Emergency Ward in April 2025. Management at the time disputed suggestions of neglect, citing the unavailability of a specialised procedure and fully occupied intensive care unit beds, while announcing an internal investigation.
Against this background, the inauguration of the Quality Management Teams is significant, particularly for a major referral facility serving patients from across Northern Ghana and beyond.
Beyond clinical outcomes, patients’ experiences are often shaped by how promptly they receive attention, how healthcare workers communicate with them, their willingness to respond to concerns and the respect with which patients and their relatives are treated.
Addressing leadership and accountability at the inauguration, a resource person and Quality Manager at the Ministry of Health, Madam Selina Dussey, emphasised that effective leadership was essential to maintaining standards and improving service delivery.
She expressed concern that managers who insist on accountability are sometimes labelled as difficult and urged hospital leaders not to relent in demanding professionalism and quality performance from their staff.
Madam Dussey also highlighted the financial and legal implications of poor-quality healthcare, explaining that effective quality management could reduce complaints, legal disputes and revenue losses arising from failures in service delivery.
Members of the newly constituted Quality Management Teams were presented with certificates following their inauguration.
The teams are expected to monitor service delivery standards within their respective Sub-BMCs, address concerns raised by patients, promote accountability and ensure that professional standards are maintained across the hospital.
The ultimate test, however, will be whether the teams translate their mandate into measurable improvements in patient care, staff conduct and public confidence in the hospital.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
