Minister Must Apologize and Reinstate TTH CEO – Hon. Patrick Yaw Yiadom, Health Committee Member
Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, Hon. Patrick Yaw Yiadom, has condemned the recent actions of the Health Minister during a surprise visit to the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), calling his conduct “reprehensible” and “harmful to the health sector.”
Speaking on Maakye on Kessben TV this morning, Hon. Yiadom revealed that the Health Committee was already on a nationwide tour of health facilities to assess the state of service delivery when the minister made his unexpected solo visit to TTH.
“Our visit to Tamale Teaching Hospital was planned and communicated. The Minister’s visit was on his own accord and was separate from ours,” he clarified.
According to Hon. Yiadom, tensions at the hospital escalated after an emergency patient, brought in following an accident over the weekend prior, passed away. The matter went viral on social media, prompting outrage from the public.
In response, the Health Minister, together with the MP for Tamale North, Honourable Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, reportedly stormed the facility without notice.
Hon. Yiadom criticized the Minister for not allowing the Consultant Neurologist, who heads the emergency department, to explain the challenges that led to the patient’s death.
“The Minister should have followed due process. Instead, he exchanged words with the hospital’s CEO and acted in a way not backed by the laws of Ghana,” he said.
He expressed disappointment over the removal of the hospital’s CEO, calling the decision premature and politically influenced.
“There should have been a proper clinical audit to determine if the death was due to medical negligence or systemic failure,” he stressed.
During the Health Committee’s official visit, Hon. Yiadom said doctors at TTH revealed a worrying list of equipment shortages. The emergency unit reportedly had no ventilator, lacked basic supplies like water, gauze, mentholated spirit, and even medicines. These shortages force patients to buy essential drugs from private pharmacies.
He noted that these challenges are affecting the quality of care and public perception of doctors, who are often blamed unfairly when the real issue is a lack of tools.
Hon. Yiadom concluded by urging the Health Minister to publicly apologize to the hospital’s leadership and reinstate the sacked CEO immediately, while allowing a formal investigation and audit into the patient’s death. “The Minister’s conduct is condemnable. We cannot build a strong health sector by ignoring due process and humiliating professionals,” he stated.
By; Adeline Mumuni.
