The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) says it is compelled to keep hundreds of patients admitted longer than medically necessary due to their inability to settle hospital bills.

The situation, hospital authorities say, is fuelling congestion across the facility, limiting bed availability and placing severe strain on already stretched resources.

Speaking on the challenge, Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, explained that unpaid bills leave the hospital with little choice but to retain patients who are medically fit for discharge.

He noted that many such patients remain on admission for weeks, occupying beds needed for new cases.

“There are a lot of people you wish they could go outside because once they are here, they occupy your bed. You need to feed them. Sometimes they are here for several days or weeks, but you cannot just say, ‘Get up and go,’” he said.

Dr Baidoo stressed that despite the financial burden, the hospital cannot adopt inhumane practices.

“You cannot say, ‘Because you are not paying your bill, give me the bed; sleep on the floor. That is not human. But that contributes to some of the congestion we have in the hospital.”

Explaining how the congestion affects daily operations, the KATH CEO said delays at the ward level often disrupt emergency care and surgical schedules.

“When you come, you see we render a lot of services—from emergency. Some may go to the theatre; some may from there go to the ward. But if you need to be sent to the ward, meanwhile, the bed you are going to occupy is already occupied by somebody, it means that we cannot send you to the ward.”

He added that the backlog places additional pressure on theatre services and recovery units.

During an engagement with the Ashanti Business Association aimed at mobilising support to help discharge detained patients, Dr Baidoo emphasised the hospital’s obligation to account for every service rendered.

“Every service rendered here ought to be accounted for. So somebody will be asking, why is it that we discharge patients and they are still on admission? Sometimes we wish we could just tell them, ‘Get up and go home.’”

He explained that discharging patients without payment exposes hospital management to accountability challenges.

“But once you do that, the next moment you will be at the Public Accounts Committee to answer why patients were managed and never paid their bills.”

Dr Baidoo also pointed to KATH’s national appeal as another factor worsening congestion.

“Recently, one of the ministers of health called, and we were wondering if everybody in their region would want to come to Komfo Anokye even though Accra is closer because of the services we render and how patient we are in accommodating.”

He noted that delayed discharges have a ripple effect on the hospital’s overall efficiency.

“So that is the effect. Once they are not getting home, it trickles down and affects our services significantly.”

Hospital authorities say the situation has resulted in severe congestion, limited bed availability, delayed surgeries and mounting pressure on the hospital’s finances and supplier payments.