KATH CEO suspended after acting against presidential directive on emergency admissions- Health Minister

Josephine Amuzu 06:47 - 06 June 2026

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CEO of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo suspended for two weeks

The CEO of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital has been suspended for two weeks over the hospital’s emergency admissions announcement, while the Public Affairs head faces investigation over TV comments.

The Health Minister has suspended the CEO of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for two weeks over the announcement suspending emergency admissions, saying it went against a presidential directive.
According to the Minister, the CEO admitted to acting contrary to the President’s instructions during a meeting on June 4.
The hospital’s Public Affairs head is also being investigated for comments made on Channel One Newsroom about the admissions suspension, with possible sanctions if wrongdoing is found.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has been suspended for two weeks with immediate effect following the hospital’s announcement suspending admissions of new emergency cases, a move the government says contravened a directive from President John Mahama.

The directive, issued by the Minister of Health on June 5, 2026, under Section 36(1) of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 526), ordered the Board of the hospital to suspend the CEO for “causing to be announced the suspension of admissions of emergency cases” at the facility on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

In a letter to the Board, the Minister stated that the CEO had admitted to acting contrary to presidential directives.

The Chief Executive admitted before me on Wednesday June 4, 2026 that he acted contrary to the clear directives of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana by that said announcement, the Minister said.

According to the directive, the CEO will be required to report to the Minister after serving the two-week suspension.

The meeting leading to the decision was attended by the Ministry’s Chief Director, Technical Advisor, and Legal Advisor.

Beyond the CEO’s suspension, the Minister also raised concerns over public comments made by the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of KATH during an interview on Channel One Newsroom regarding the hospital’s suspension of emergency admissions.

The Minister said the spokesperson’s remarks on television were also “contrary to the directives of the President.”

I am also respectfully requesting you to undertake a thorough investigation to establish, on what authority he made those comments on Channel 1 Newsroom, the Minister directed the Board.

The letter further questioned whether the Public Affairs head had management approval to grant the interview.

Further whether it was a management decision for him to grant the said interview. Where necessary the appropriate sanctions should be applied, the Minister added.

The Board has been tasked to submit a report on the matter within two weeks.The suspension follows public concerns after KATH announced a temporary halt in the admission of new emergency cases, triggering debate over access to emergency healthcare services at one of Ghana’s leading referral hospitals.

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