Nurses and midwives join KATH strike over CEO suspension, deepening hospital crisis

The industrial crisis at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has reached a critical point with the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) officially joining the ongoing strike action, thereby crippling operations at one of the nation's primary referral facilities.

The escalation is attributed to a contentious directive by the Minister of Health, who suspended KATH's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, for two weeks.

In response, the GRNMA issued a statement on Saturday, June 6, condemning the suspension as an unnecessary distraction that fails to address the fundamental crises plaguing the institution.

According to the association, penalizing the CEO does not alleviate the chronic overcrowding, severe logistical deficits, and infrastructural constraints that healthcare workers face daily. The frontline workers assert that patient safety and high-quality care cannot be achieved through administrative penalties while systemic facility failures remain unaddressed.

The GRNMA set a strict ultimatum, declaring that its members would withdraw their services if the Ministry of Health refused to rescind the suspension. Following the expiration of the deadline, nurses and midwives officially walked out at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 7.

The striking workers are now calling on the government to focus on long-term structural solutions, specifically demanding the immediate operationalization of long-awaited regional health facilities to help decongest KATH, alongside an urgent commitment to retooling and infrastructural expansion.

The association has also appealed to the KATH Board of Directors to intervene immediately to mediate the standoff and prevent prolonged disruptions to patient care.

This joint withdrawal of services by nurses and midwives significantly amplifies the operational gridlock at the teaching hospital, coming just as the National Labour Commission (NLC) had ordered doctors to call off a separate, concurrent strike action.

With both vital factions of the healthcare workforce in open dispute with management directives, the facility faces an unprecedented strain on its ability to deliver critical medical care.