The industrial crisis at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has deepened significantly after the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) officially joined the ongoing strike action, crippling operations at one of the nation's primary referral facilities.

The escalation stems from a controversial directive by the Minister of Health, who handed down a two-week suspension to KATH’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo.

In a swift response, the GRNMA issued a statement on Saturday, June 6, condemning the suspension as an unnecessary distraction that fails to tackle the fundamental crises plaguing the institution.

According to the association, penalising the CEO does nothing to alleviate the chronic overcrowding, severe logistical deficits, and infrastructural constraints that healthcare workers face on a daily basis.

The frontline workers maintain that patient safety and high-quality care cannot be achieved through administrative penalties while systemic facility failures remain unaddressed.

Setting a strict ultimatum, the GRNMA declared that its members would withdraw their services if the Ministry of Health refused to rescind the suspension. Following the expiration of that deadline, nurses and midwives officially walked out at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 7.

The striking workers are now calling on the government to shift its focus toward long-term structural solutions. Specifically, they are demanding the immediate operationalisation of long-awaited regional health facilities to help decongest KATH, alongside an urgent commitment to retooling and infrastructural expansion.

The association has also appealed to the KATH Board of Directors to intervene immediately to mediate the standoff and prevent prolonged disruptions to patient care.

This joint withdrawal of services by nurses and midwives significantly amplifies the operational gridlock at the teaching hospital, coming just as the National Labour Commission (NLC) had ordered doctors to call off a separate, concurrent strike action.

With both vital factions of the healthcare workforce in open dispute with management directives, the facility faces an unprecedented strain on its ability to deliver critical medical care.