GRNMA Defends KATH CEO, Says Clinical Decisions Should Not Fall on One Person

The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has mounted a vigorous defence of the suspended Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, arguing that clinical decisions in a hospital setting are never the sole preserve of a single administrator and that punishing the CEO for following established emergency protocols is both unjust and misguided.

Jones Afriyie-Anto, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GRNMA, made the case during an appearance on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, as the fallout from KATH’s recent bed shortage crisis continues to generate national debate about accountability, hospital governance and the structural pressures facing Ghana’s healthcare system.

A Crisis That Sparked a National Conversation

The controversy erupted after the hospital’s management declared a critical incident during a period of overwhelming patient numbers, a move that drew public outrage and led to the suspension of Dr Baidoo. The episode, widely described as the “No Bed Syndrome,” exposed the chronic congestion that has long plagued one of Ghana’s largest referral facilities and triggered threats of industrial action by health workers who viewed the sanctions as a scapegoating exercise.

Mr Afriyie-Anto was unequivocal in his defence. “What happened at the hospital was nothing unusual,” he said. “It is the right thing to do. It is the internationally accepted practice for nurses and midwives and other emergency teams at any emergency room to do that.” He explained that when patient numbers exceed available resources, hospitals worldwide are expected to activate emergency protocols and declare critical incidents. “Nobody should be punished for it,” he added.

Clinical Decisions Are a Team Effort

The GRNMA chairman challenged what he described as a fundamental misunderstanding of how hospitals operate. He argued that while the CEO serves as the official spokesperson for any health institution, that role does not mean every medical or operational decision originates from the chief executive’s office.

“If we are communicating to the world from the hospital, it should be done by the Chief Executive Officer, who has the right to speak on behalf of the hospital,” Mr Afriyie-Anto said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that clinical decisions are necessarily coming from him.”

To illustrate his point, he raised the possibility of a hospital CEO coming from a non-clinical background. “Are we going to blame an accountant who becomes chief executive of a teaching hospital? Because obviously those decisions might not have come from him as a chief executive officer, but have come from the professionals who know the right thing to do,” he stated.

Stakeholder Interventions Halt Strike Action

The GRNMA’s decision to suspend its planned industrial action came after interventions from several key figures, including the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the KATH Board of Directors. The Ashanti Regional Minister and the Regional Coordinating Council also provided assurances that the underlying issues would be addressed. The development follows a similar suspension of strike action by KATH doctors after the Asantehene’s direct intervention earlier in the crisis.

“We suspended it because, first of all, we are in the Ashanti Region, and where the message came from is such that you have to listen,” Mr Afriyie-Anto explained. “The Asantehene himself and the board of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and so it is such that you have to listen.”

The assurances, he said, were encouraging. “The assurances were good, and we hope that it will be tackled.”

Systemic Issues Remain Unresolved

Beneath the immediate labour dispute lies a deeper question about the chronic underfunding and overcrowding of Ghana’s major public hospitals. KATH, as the second-largest teaching hospital in the country, serves a vast catchment area across the northern sector and regularly operates beyond its designed capacity. The bed crisis that triggered the current controversy is not an isolated incident but a symptom of years of infrastructure deficits and rising patient loads that successive governments have struggled to address.

Health policy analysts have argued that holding individual executives accountable for systemic failures risks discouraging transparent communication from hospital management in future crises. The GRNMA’s position echoes a growing consensus within the health sector that governance reforms, rather than punitive measures, are needed to prevent a recurrence of the conditions that led to the KATH crisis.

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