By Daniel Bampoe
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has launched a blistering attack on the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, accusing him of adopting what it describes as a “Rambo-style” approach to leadership and urging President John Dramani Mahama to immediately call the minister to order amid the growing controversy surrounding the suspension of the Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo.
The opposition lawmakers argue that the government’s decision to suspend the KATH CEO over the worsening “No Bed Syndrome” at the country’s second-largest referral hospital amounts to scapegoating and fails to address the deep-rooted structural deficiencies that have plagued Ghana’s healthcare system for years.
The controversy erupted after the Ministry of Health announced the suspension of Dr. Baidoo following public outrage over overcrowding, bed shortages and congestion at KATH’s Accident and Emergency Centre.
The decision subsequently triggered industrial action by doctors and nurses at the facility, escalating tensions and raising concerns about healthcare delivery across the Ashanti Region and beyond.
In a statement dated June 7, 2026 and signed by the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, the Minority insisted that while every avoidable death within the healthcare system must be investigated thoroughly, it is unfair and misleading to place sole responsibility on the hospital’s chief executive.
According to the Caucus, the challenges confronting KATH did not emerge overnight but are the result of years of inadequate infrastructure expansion, delayed hospital projects, weak referral systems, workforce shortages and resource constraints.
The lawmakers argued that successive governments have long acknowledged the pressure on KATH, leading to the construction of major healthcare facilities specifically intended to reduce the burden on the teaching hospital.
Among these projects are the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital and the Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua, both initiated and substantially completed under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
The Minority noted that these facilities were strategically designed to absorb a significant number of referral cases from the Ashanti Region and neighboring regions. However, despite their importance, they have yet to become fully operational, leaving KATH to continue carrying the overwhelming patient load.
“It is difficult to understand why a government that inherited these critical facilities would choose to suspend a hospital CEO rather than accelerate the full operationalisation of these hospitals and strengthen referral arrangements,” the statement said.
The Caucus further pointed to provisions contained in the 2026 Budget Statement, which acknowledged that the Sewua Hospital remains one of several major health infrastructure projects requiring continued government attention. According to the Minority, the government’s own policy documents effectively confirm that healthcare expansion targets remain behind schedule.
Beyond Sewua and Afari, the opposition also highlighted the 100-bed Trede District Hospital and the 100-bed Kokoben-Oforikrom District Hospital, both commissioned in 2024 with modern accident and emergency departments, surgical theatres, maternity wards, diagnostic units and inpatient facilities.
The Minority claimed that despite the significant public investment made in these facilities, they remain largely non-operational nearly two years after commissioning.
The Caucus questioned how government could justify suspending the KATH CEO for excessive patient demand when hospitals specifically built to absorb that demand remain unable to deliver services.
According to the opposition, the persistent “No Bed Syndrome” should be understood as a national healthcare capacity crisis rather than the failure of a single administrator.
The statement argued that suspending Dr. Baidoo would neither create additional hospital beds nor recruit specialist doctors, equip emergency wards or solve congestion within Ghana’s referral hospitals.
The Minority also raised political concerns over what it described as the apparent lack of urgency in operationalizing major healthcare facilities in the Ashanti Region.
The statement suggested that many Ghanaians are beginning to question whether political considerations may be influencing the pace of healthcare development in the region, traditionally regarded as a stronghold of the opposition NPP.
As part of its demands, the Caucus called for the immediate revocation of the KATH CEO’s suspension pending the outcome of an independent investigation. It further urged government to expedite the operationalisation of the 300-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua, including its 50-bed infectious disease isolation and treatment centre, as well as the Agenda 111 hospitals at Trede and Kokoben-Oforikrom.
The lawmakers also urged government to address longstanding concerns repeatedly raised by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and other healthcare professionals regarding the structural causes of the “No Bed Syndrome.”
Perhaps the strongest criticism in the statement was directed at Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, whom the Minority accused of increasingly relying on unilateral decisions instead of stakeholder consultation.
The opposition warned that consultation, consensus-building and professional engagement appear to be giving way to what it described as “Rambo-style leadership,” a development they believe is undermining confidence within the health sector.
The Caucus therefore appealed to President Mahama to intervene and ensure that the Health Minister adopts a more conciliatory and collaborative leadership style capable of restoring trust among doctors, nurses and hospital administrators.
Despite backing concerns raised by doctors and healthcare workers over due process and professional fairness, the Minority also cautioned against prolonged industrial action that could jeopardize patient care and urged all parties to pursue dialogue to restore normal services.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has strongly defended its decision to suspend Dr. Baidoo, insisting that the action was necessary to uphold accountability, administrative discipline and patient safety.
In a separate statement issued on June 7, 2026, the Ministry explained that the suspension followed the decision by KATH management to halt new admissions at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Centre due to severe congestion and capacity challenges.
According to the Ministry, while management’s concerns about overcrowding were legitimate, the public announcement suspending emergency admissions was inconsistent with President Mahama’s directive that all public health facilities must continue providing emergency healthcare services and should not turn away patients under any circumstances.
The Ministry maintained that Dr. Baidoo’s decision was taken without authorization from either the hospital’s governing board or the Ministry itself, necessitating administrative intervention.
Officials emphasized that the suspension should not be viewed as punishment but rather as an administrative measure intended to facilitate an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the emergency unit.
The Ministry further clarified that the disciplinary action was directed at Dr. Baidoo in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer, a presidential appointee, and not in his role as a medical doctor.
As criticism mounted, the Ministry sought to reassure healthcare workers that Health Minister Akandoh remains committed to stakeholder engagement and healthcare reform.
Government highlighted several ongoing initiatives aimed at addressing systemic challenges within the health sector, including the retooling of major hospitals, the establishment of a National Bed Management System to improve patient referrals and bed allocation, and efforts to operationalize the National Emergency Centre at Burma Camp.
The Ministry also cited progress on selected Agenda 111 hospitals and plans to establish advanced cardiac catheterization laboratories at KATH, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Tamale Teaching Hospital.
In addition, government disclosed that preparations are underway for a National Accident and Emergency Centre in Accra as part of broader efforts to strengthen emergency healthcare services nationwide.
Regarding concerns about the delayed completion of the Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua, the Ministry indicated that work is progressing steadily and that the facility is expected to be completed before the end of 2026.
