The minority caucus's Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, has questioned whether political considerations are behind delays in the full operationalisation of major health facilities in the Ashanti Region.

He argued that the government is focusing on suspending officials instead of addressing the root causes of the “No Bed Syndrome” at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).

Medical doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi have announced an indefinite withdrawal of services in protest against the Minister of Health's directive to suspend the hospital’s CEO, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo.

According to the doctors, the minister's action, directing the hospital's Board to suspend the CEO, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, for two weeks, was unjustified and detrimental to efforts aimed at safeguarding patient care.

The doctors decided at an emergency meeting on Friday, June 5, 2026, following the CEO's suspension.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Minority described the government’s decision to suspend the KATH Chief Executive Officer as “unfortunate, reactionary, and fails to address the underlying structural failures confronting Ghana’s health sector.”

The MP argued that while every preventable loss of life must be investigated, holding a single hospital administrator responsible ignores long-standing challenges within the healthcare system.

According to him, the pressure on KATH is largely the result of delays in bringing critical health infrastructure projects into full operation.

He pointed to the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital and the 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital, saying both facilities were intended to reduce the burden on KATH.

“It is therefore 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,” he stated.

The lawmaker noted that the government’s own 2026 Budget acknowledged that the Sewua hospital remains among the major health infrastructure projects requiring continued attention.

He then raised what he described as a troubling question.

“Is the Government’s failure to fully operationalise these hospitals due to political considerations?” he asked.

“Many Ghanaians are beginning to wonder whether the apparent lack of urgency in bringing critical facilities such as the Sewua Hospital into full operation is influenced by the fact that the Ashanti Region is not considered a major electoral stronghold of the governing NDC.”

Dr Ayew Afriye said the government must provide “clear answers” and prove that access to healthcare is not being determined by partisan interests.

He also cited the 100-bed Trede District Hospital and the 100-bed Kokoben-Oforikrom District Hospital, both commissioned in 2024, saying they were specifically built to absorb growing patient demand and reduce pressure on KATH.

Despite substantial public investment, he said the facilities remain largely non-operational nearly two years later while KATH continues to struggle with congestion, overstretched staff and bed shortages.

“It is therefore difficult to understand how government can justify suspending the CEO of KATH for challenges arising from excess demand when two fully completed 100-bed hospitals, specifically built to absorb part of that demand, remain unable to provide the services for which they were constructed,” he said.

The Ranking Member maintained that the “No Bed Syndrome” is fundamentally a capacity, infrastructure, referral and resource allocation problem rather than a leadership problem at KATH.

“Punishing one hospital administrator may create headlines, but it will not create additional beds, equip emergency wards, recruit specialist staff, or decongest referral centres,” he stated.

He called for the immediate reinstatement of the KATH CEO, the urgent operationalisation of completed hospitals in the Ashanti Region, and greater consultation with health sector stakeholders.

“The health sector requires solutions, not scapegoats,” he said, adding that the suspension may satisfy a temporary political narrative but does little to resolve the deeper challenges facing healthcare delivery in Ghana.