A breakthrough has been reached in efforts to end a strike by doctors, nurses and midwives atKomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), after a meeting between union leaders and the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene.

The minister said on Sunday (7 June) that discussions with representatives of the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association, the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Medical Association, and leaders of nurses and midwives had yielded a positive outcome, raising hopes for a return to normal healthcare services at the facility.

Amoakohene told reporters after the meeting that the leadership of the various associations would brief their members before making a public announcement on the way forward.

The industrial action was triggered by the suspension of KATH Chief Executive Officer Dr (Med) Paa Kwesi Baidoo by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh. The decision followed controversy surrounding a directive to temporarily halt new admissions at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit due to severe congestion.

Doctors began their strike on Saturday (6 June), with nurses and midwives subsequently joining the action in support of calls for the reinstatement of the hospital’s chief executive, threatening to disrupt healthcare delivery at one of Ghana’s largest referral hospitals.

Amoakohene said the meeting also focused on long-term measures to ease pressure on KATH, which serves patients from across the Ashanti Region and beyond.

He disclosed plans to accelerate the operationalisation of the Afari, Trede, Oforikrom and Sewua hospitals as part of efforts to decongest the facility and improve healthcare access in the region.

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service and other health officials attended the meeting. The suspended KATH chief executive was represented by a member of staff from the hospital.