The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has publicly challenged a query letter issued to the Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), stating that available evidence does not suggest any wrongdoing by the facility’s management during a recent congestion crisis.
In an official statement, the GMA expressed concern over the “negative picture portrayed” by the query letter, which it argues unfairly implies administrative fault.
Instead, the Association clarified that temporary operational measures implemented at KATH’s Accident and Emergency Centre were necessary steps taken to manage severe overcrowding, safeguard patient welfare, and maintain quality care.
Operational Measures and Current Status
According to the GMA, investigations and reviews of meeting minutes from regional health authorities indicate that KATH was operating well beyond its physical capacity.
Rather than turning away emergency patients, hospital leadership introduced temporary arrangements to redistribute and redirect incoming cases to peripheral regional and district health facilities.
Due to the swift execution of these temporary redistribution protocols, conditions at KATH’s Accident and Emergency Centre have since improved significantly.
The GMA explicitly praised the doctors, nurses, emergency medicine specialists, and other healthcare professionals at KATH and across the Ashanti Region for working diligently under heavily challenging conditions to protect patient safety.
Leadership hopes that the ongoing engagement between the KATH Chief Executive Officer and the Minister for Health will focus on solving infrastructure gaps rather than producing adverse punitive outcomes.
A Call for Systemic Reform
The GMA emphasised that the congestion at KATH is an indicator of broader, systemic gaps in Ghana’s national emergency healthcare architecture.
To prevent future bottlenecks at major tertiary referral hubs, the Association is demanding critical state interventions.
”We call for sustained investments in emergency medicine infrastructure, expansion of emergency care facilities, strengthening of referral systems, and improved resourcing of regional and district hospitals to enhance their capacity to manage emergency cases closer to patients’ communities.”
The leadership concluded by reiterating its commitment to supporting national policies that guarantee timely access to quality emergency medicine for every Ghanaian, regardless of geographical location.
The statement was jointly signed by GMA President, Prof Dr Ernest Yorke, and General Secretary, Dr Richard Selormey, who noted that the Association will continue monitoring the situation closely to inform further actions.