Dr. Adam Atiku (Left), Dr. Abubakari Bawah Abdulai (right)
President John Dramani Mahama, has sacked the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), Dr. Adam Atiku, with immediate effect.
Subsequently, Dr. Abubakari Bawah Abdulai, former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Karaga Constituency and a senior staff at the University for Development Studies (UDS), has been appointed as the acting Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
The dismissal of the TTH CEO follows an unannounced visit by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, to the hospital in response to allegations of negligence by the facility’s health workers.
A patient, one Bavug Salim, passed away at the Tamale Teaching Hospital amid these allegations.
The Minister of Health, has since established a three-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the patient’s death.
The committee is expected to conduct its investigation within two weeks and submit a report to determine the circumstances surrounding the deceased’s death.
However, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has strongly condemned the unfortunate treatment of the doctors at the Emergency Unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital during the visit by the Minister of Health and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, and subsequent dismissal of the CEO of the hospital, Dr. Adam Atiku.
According to the GMA, the manner in which the dismissal of the TTH CEO was carried out is an affront to due process and abuse of power by the Minister of Health.
“The GMA stands in solidarity with our colleagues in the wake of these injustices being perpetuated,” the Association stated.
A statement signed by President of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr. Frank Serebour, noted that the Association recognises concerns raised by relatives of the patient and the minister and MP, adding that there are clearly laid down processes and procedures to resolve concerns or grievances rather than these circuses of public engagement which often only whips up public sentiments without addressing the underlying issues or providing any lasting solutions.
Dr. Serebour demanded an unqualified apology from the Minister of Health and the MP for Tamale North for the unwarranted attack on the staff involved.
Meanwhile, the Minority Health Caucus in Parliament, has equally condemned the dismissal of Dr. Adam Atiku by the Minister for Health, adding that the dismissal was carried out without recourse to due process and raises serious constitutional, administrative, and governance concerns.
According to the Minority Health Caucus in Parliament, the dismissal is not solely based on the recent unfortunate death of a patient at the hospital, but rather an exercise of power which, by his own admission, the “appointing authority owes nobody any explanation” for.
“This attitude is not only authoritarian but diametrically opposed to the principles of administrative justice, accountability, and the rule of law. It is important to restate the governing legal framework for the administration of Teaching Hospitals in Ghana. Section 37(1)(e) of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 1009), provides that the Chief Executive Officer of a teaching hospital shall be the Chief Administrator and a member of the Hospital’s Governing Board. The law does not confer unilateral power on the Minister of Health to dismiss the CEO of a teaching hospital, let alone in the manner and under the circumstances now in issue.”
The Minority reechoed their committed to upholding the rule of law, and to defending the integrity of public institutions from arbitrary and unlawful interference.
“We shall explore all legal and parliamentary avenues to ensure that this matter is not swept under the carpet,” the Minority stated.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale