AfriPulse
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has defended the decision to suspend the Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo.
According to the minister, the suspension became necessary after the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit was closed without the required approval.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, June 16, Akandoh said the decision followed what he described as a breach of directives issued by President John Dramani Mahama on the handling of emergency cases in health facilities across the country.
He explained that the Executive Branch of government has the authority to take disciplinary action when needed, especially on issues related to government policies and the management of public institutions.
“I do not remember anytime that when the Executive is executing punitive actions, it needed the permission of Parliament to do so. On this floor of Parliament, the President issued a policy direction in the health sector that no health facility should turn away emergency cases, and he added that even if the life of the person must be saved on the ground, we should do so, and when the President speaks, it must be implemented.
“Let me put on record that absolutely nobody has the right to close any portion of a health facility without the consent of the Health Minister. After the President’s directive, there was a press statement which indicated that the accident and emergency unit of KATH is closed and no more patients can come there,” he said.
The minister stressed that no section of a health facility should be closed without approval from the Health Ministry.
He argued that the closure of the Accident and Emergency Unit went against the President’s directive that all emergency patients must be attended to and not turned away.
Source: TheGhanaReport | Read the Full Story…
