The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has defended the actions taken by management and health professionals at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).

Jones Afriyie-Anto insists that no one should be punished for the recent bed capacity crisis that sparked national concern.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Mr Afriyie-Anto said the decision by health workers to suspend their planned industrial action was influenced by interventions from the Asantehene, the KATH Board, and assurances from regional authorities.

“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,” he said.

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

His comments come amid controversy over the suspension of the KATH CEO, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, following public outrage over reports of severe congestion and bed shortages at the facility, commonly described as the “No Bed Syndrome.”

The situation triggered tensions within the health sector and prompted threats of industrial action by some health workers before the intervention of key stakeholders.

According to Mr Afriyie-Anto, assurances received from the Ashanti Regional Minister and the Regional Coordinating Council provided enough confidence for the union to suspend its action and allow room for dialogue.

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

He argued, however, that the events that unfolded at the hospital were neither extraordinary nor evidence of wrongdoing by management.

“We needed to do this to show that what happened at the hospital was nothing unusual,” he stated.

Mr Afriyie-Anto explained that healthcare facilities worldwide are required to activate emergency protocols when patient numbers exceed available capacity.

“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.”

According to him, hospitals facing overwhelming demand are expected to declare a critical incident.

“When you are overwhelmed with the cases, you declare what we call critical incidents, and that is exactly what was done,” he said.

“And so nobody should be punished for it.”

The GRNMA leader also questioned attempts to place responsibility solely on the KATH Chief Executive Officer, arguing that clinical decisions are made by medical professionals and not necessarily by 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,” he said.

He stressed that this does not mean operational and clinical decisions originate from the CEO.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that clinical decisions are necessarily coming from him.”

To illustrate his point, he noted that a hospital CEO could come from a non-clinical background.

“I asked if there’s a day that we will have an accountant, which is possible, who will become the chief executive officer of a teaching hospital.”

“Are we going to blame him? 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.”

Mr Afriyie-Anto maintained that the declaration of a critical incident at KATH was a professional response to extraordinary pressure on the hospital and should not become grounds for punitive action against any individual.