The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has directed the Board of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to suspend the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer for two weeks with immediate effect.
The directive, contained in a letter dated June 5, 2026, cites the CEO’s announcement on the suspension of admissions of emergency cases at the facility as the reason for the disciplinary action.
According to the Minister, the CEO acted contrary to directives issued by President John Mahama when he announced the suspension of emergency admissions at the hospital on Wednesday, June 3, 2026
“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 (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,” the letter stated.
The Health Minister further revealed that a meeting attended by the Chief Director, Technical Advisor and Legal Advisor of the Ministry had determined that the CEO’s actions were inconsistent with the President’s directives.
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.
According to the Minister, the Public Affairs Unit also acted contrary to presidential directives by commenting publicly on the suspension of admissions.
“I am also respectfully requesting you to undertake a thorough investigation to establish on what authority he made those comments on Channel One Newsroom. Further whether it was a management decision for him to grant the said interview. Where necessary the appropriate sanctions should be applied,” the Minister directed.
The Board has been asked to submit a report on its findings within two weeks.
The development follows public concern over the temporary suspension of emergency admissions at the Kumasi-based referral hospital amid challenges affecting healthcare delivery at the facility.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
