The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Jones Afriyie-Anto, says nurses decided to suspend their industrial action after receiving assurances from key stakeholders, including the Asantehene and the Board of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).

The decision follows growing tensions at KATH after the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, amid public concerns over the facility’s worsening bed shortages and congestion.

The development sparked outrage among sections of the health workforce, leading to industrial action by nurses in the Ashanti Region.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Mr Afriyie-Anto said the intervention of influential stakeholders created the conditions for the association to step back from the strike and allow dialogue to continue.

“We suspended it because, first of all, we are in the Ashanti Region, and the message that came from there is such that you have to listen,” he said.

According to him, the involvement of the Asantehene and the KATH Board carried significant weight.

“The Asantehene himself and the board of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and so it is such that you have to listen.”

He explained that additional assurances from the Ashanti Regional Minister and the Regional Coordinating Council strengthened the association’s decision.

“The assurances, first of all, Sunday evening from the Regional Minister and the Regional Coordinating Council, followed by what happened this morning, we needed to suspend it and believe what we are told, so that we can get a headway.”

Mr Afriyie-Anto said the assurances offered to the association were convincing enough to justify suspending the action.

“The assurances were good, and we hope that it will be tackled, it's difficult, but we needed to do this.”

Beyond the industrial action, he strongly defended the actions taken by health professionals at KATH during the recent congestion crisis.

According to him, what occurred at the hospital was neither unusual nor outside accepted professional standards.

“What happened at the hospital was nothing unusual. It is the right thing to do.”

He explained that emergency departments worldwide are expected to activate special protocols when patient volumes become overwhelming.

“It is the internationally accepted practice for nurses and midwives and other emergency teams at any emergency room to do that. When you are overwhelmed with the cases, you declare what we call critical incidents, and that is exactly what was done.”

Mr Afriyie-Anto, therefore, argued that no individual should be punished for actions taken under such circumstances.

“Nobody should be punished for it,” he stressed.

He also questioned attempts to place responsibility solely on the suspended Chief Executive Officer, noting that clinical decisions are typically made by healthcare professionals rather than hospital administrators.

“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, and it doesn't necessarily mean that clinical decisions are necessarily coming from him.”

To illustrate his point, he said even a non-medical professional could be appointed to lead a hospital.

“I asked if there's a day that will have an accountant, which is possible, who will become the chief executive officer of a teaching hospital. Are we going to blame him?”

He maintained that many of the decisions under scrutiny would have been made by healthcare professionals acting in accordance with accepted medical standards.

According to him, that reality, coupled with assurances from key stakeholders, informed the decision to suspend the strike and allow discussions to continue.