The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, has urged the government to partner with private healthcare facilities as an immediate measure to address congestion at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), arguing that viable solutions exist to ease pressure on the facility’s overstretched emergency unit.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, June 8, Dr. Afriyie said the challenges confronting KATH could be mitigated through strategic public-private partnerships that would allow some patients to be managed at designated private hospitals while public facilities focus on critical cases.
His comments come amid growing debate over conditions at KATH following the suspension of the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, over the temporary suspension of emergency admissions at the facility.
According to Dr. Afriyie, the government should explore arrangements with private hospitals to support admissions and patient care, particularly during periods of heightened pressure on public health facilities.
“There are a lot of private hospitals that government can designate to undertake public-private partnerships,” he said, explaining that such arrangements could help create additional capacity within the healthcare system during emergencies.
He further proposed that government deploy healthcare personnel to selected private facilities and facilitate the transfer of patients who are close to discharge, thereby freeing up beds in public hospitals for more critical cases.
Dr. Afriyie argued that such interventions would significantly decongest emergency units and improve the ability of public hospitals to respond to urgent medical cases.
He expressed disappointment that, despite the availability of these alternatives, little effort had been made to implement them, insisting that policymakers should focus on practical solutions rather than assigning blame.
