KATH Doctors Declare Total Strike From 6am Today Over CEO Suspension, Emergency Overcrowding
Kumasi, Ghana
Medical doctors at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, KATH, have declared a total withdrawal of services beginning 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2026, over the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer and persistent overcrowding at the Emergency Department.
The industrial action was announced in a letter dated June 5, 2026, by the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association, KADA, addressed to the Chairman of the Board of KATH.
Why KADA is striking
According to KADA, an emergency meeting held on June 5 evaluated recent events at KATH involving unprecedented congestion at the Emergency Department. The association said management’s decision to temporarily halt new emergency admissions and coordinate with surrounding health facilities was a clinical and administrative intervention intended to prevent avoidable loss of life and preserve patient safety under severe capacity constraints.KADA expressed concern that disciplinary sanctions were instead imposed on the Chief Executive Officer for that decision. The doctors described the Minister’s action in suspending the CEO as “unjustified and counterproductive” to efforts aimed at addressing systemic challenges at the hospital.
3 conditions to end the strike
KADA stated the industrial action will continue until three conditions are met:
CEO suspension reversed: The suspension of the Chief Executive Officer must be reviewed and reversed.
Clear emergency policy: The Board must issue clear policies on managing situations where hospital emergency capacity is exceeded. This should include explicit guidance on patient overflow and circumstances under which admissions may be restricted in the interest of patient safety.
Infrastructure timelines: The Ministry of Health must provide clear timelines for operationalizing Sewua Hospital and Afari Military Hospital, plus timelines for retooling KATH and other hospitals within the Ashanti Region to ease the burden on KATH.
KATH’s systemic challenges
In the letter signed by Dr. Michael Leat, Chairman of KADA, the association noted that KATH serves as the principal tertiary referral hospital for the middle and northern sectors of Ghana. Despite an ever-increasing patient load, the hospital continues to operate under significant infrastructural limitations.“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,” KADA stated.
Impact on patients
KADA emphasized that the action is not intended to undermine healthcare delivery but to draw urgent national attention to issues of patient and caregiver safety, clinical governance, professional accountability, and sustainability of healthcare services at Ghana’s second-largest teaching hospital.
The association called on 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. KADA also urged the Board to advocate strongly for sustainable solutions to persistent overcrowding at KATH.
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