Ghanaian doctors strike over CEO suspension, citing minister's 'unjustified' action

Medical doctors at Ghana's Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) have launched an indefinite strike, ceasing all services in protest of the Health Minister's disciplinary suspension of the hospital's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The doctors declared the action at an emergency meeting on Friday, June 5, 2026, following the suspension of CEO Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo for two weeks.

According to the Ghana Medical Association's Komfo Anokye branch, the minister's decision is unjustified and detrimental to patient care. They stated that the CEO's suspension followed management's necessary decision to temporarily halt new admissions at the hospital's overcrowded Accident and Emergency (A&E) Centre. This measure was implemented due to severe congestion from increasing referrals.

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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 doctors emphasized that KATH serves as the primary tertiary referral center for Ghana's middle and northern sectors, receiving patients from over eight regions. They argued that the hospital operates under significant infrastructural limitations. The crisis, they contend, stems from long-standing systemic health sector challenges that require policy and infrastructure solutions, not punitive actions against leaders managing the consequences.

"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 association stated. They condemned the minister's decision as "unjustified and counterproductive." The strike, which began at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2026, will continue until the CEO's suspension is reviewed and reversed, and until the hospital's Board issues clear policies for managing situations of exceeded emergency capacity.

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unjustified and counterproductive