Suspended KATH CEO Appeals to Striking Staff to Resume Work

The suspended Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. (Med) Paa Kwesi Baidoo, has called on striking staff of the facility to return to work, urging them to put patient care first while engagements over their concerns continue at the national level.

In a statement issued from the Office of the Chief Executive on Monday, June 8, Dr. Baidoo expressed appreciation to staff for what he described as their “show of solidarity” during the ongoing industrial action, which has significantly disrupted healthcare services at the hospital.

However, he appealed for calm and urged workers to resume duty in what he described as the “supreme interest of Ghanaians and valued patients,” emphasizing the need to safeguard lives amid the standoff.

He further indicated that management would defer further decisions and directives to the “supreme wisdom” of the Minister of Health and the hospital’s governing board as efforts continue to resolve the impasse.

The appeal comes at a time when healthcare delivery at KATH has been severely affected, with patients struggling to access essential services due to the strike action.

The situation follows a directive from Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh on June 5, instructing the KATH Board to suspend Dr. Baidoo for two weeks with immediate effect.

The suspension was linked to the CEO’s announcement of a temporary halt in emergency admissions at the hospital, a decision the Ministry said was inconsistent with directives from President John Dramani Mahama on the management of emergency healthcare services.

The ongoing developments have intensified calls for dialogue between stakeholders to restore normal operations at one of Ghana’s major referral hospitals.