The Komfo Anokye Doctors Association (KADA) has announced a total withdrawal of services at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) effective 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, 6th June 2026, over the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer.
In a notice addressed to the Board Chairman of KATH, the doctors declared an indefinite strike following an emergency meeting held on Thursday, 5th June 2026.
The industrial action comes amid intense disagreement between medical staff and hospital management over how to handle severe congestion in the Emergency Department.
According to the notice, hospital management had recently introduced measures to address unprecedented congestion within the Emergency Department, including temporarily halting new emergency admissions and coordinating with surrounding health facilities.
The doctors described these interventions as “an important clinical and administrative intervention intended to prevent avoidable loss of life and preserve patient safety in the face of severe capacity constraints.”
However, they expressed profound concern that, rather than being supported, the Chief Executive Officer has been subjected to disciplinary sanctions for those same actions.
The doctors unanimously condemned the Health Minister’s decision to suspend the CEO, describing it as “unjustified and counterproductive to efforts to address the underlying systemic challenges confronting the Hospital.”
The doctors have set out three conditions for calling off the strike:
First, they are demanding that the suspension of the Chief Executive Officer be reviewed and reversed.
Second, they want the Board to issue clear policies for managing situations where the hospital’s emergency capacity has been exceeded, including explicit guidance on patient overflow and circumstances under which admissions may be restricted in the interest of patient safety.
Third, the Ministry of Health must provide clear timelines for the operationalisation of Sewua Hospital and Afari Military Hospital, as well as timelines for the retooling of KATH and other hospitals within the Ashanti Region, to ease the burden on the facility.
The doctors noted that KATH serves as the principal tertiary referral hospital for the middle and northern sectors of Ghana and continues to operate under significant infrastructural limitations despite an ever-increasing patient load.
“The current situation reflects longstanding systemic challenges that require urgent policy and infrastructure solutions rather than punitive action against healthcare leaders attempting to manage their consequences,” the notice stated.
The association emphasised that the industrial action is “not intended to undermine healthcare delivery” but rather to draw urgent national attention to issues of patient and caregiver safety, clinical governance, professional accountability, and the sustainability of healthcare services at Ghana’s second-largest teaching hospital.
The doctors have indicated their intention to engage the public and relevant stakeholders through appropriate media channels to highlight the challenges confronting KATH.
They have called upon the Board to urgently engage the Ministry of Health and all relevant stakeholders to achieve an amicable resolution and prevent further disruption to healthcare delivery.
