The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital(KATH) also known as GEE after the name of its contractors Messrs. GEE Walter & Slater [2] in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, is the second-largest hospital in Ghana,[3] and the only tertiary health institution in the Ashanti Region.[4][5]. Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital plays a significant role in providing specialized healthcare and medical education in Ghana.[6]
The hospital was built in 1954,[3][10][11][12][13] as the Kumasi Central Hospital.[14] It was later named Komfo Anokye Hospital after Okomfo Anokye, a legendary fetish priest of the Ashanti.[1] It is said that Anokye placed an unmovable sword in the middle of the Ashanti empire.[15] Many have tried and failed to remove the sword. In 1996, the Okomfo Anokye Sword Site was built around the sword on the grounds of the hospital.[16][17]
The latest building added to Komfo Anokye Hospital was the National Accident and Emergency Centre.
In October 2019, the first surgery on a heart at the hospital without making an incision was performed successfully.[21][22]
In November 2019, the hospital received four awards at the 2019 Ghana Procurement and Supply Chain Awards. The awards were for Excellence in Procurement and Supply Chain (silver category), Public Procurement and Supply Chain Compliance (silver category), Procurement and Supply Chain Team of the year (Bronze category).[23]
The constructions of the National Accident and Emergency Centre started in 2004 and were completed in 2008. The whole project was carried out by Hospital Engineering GmbH and GerTech GmbH from Germany. The project was done as a Turn-Key Project, including planning, designing, project development, construction works and implementation as well as provision and installation of medical and technical equipment.
A specific feature of the National Accident and Emergency Centre is an ultramodern facility for Forensic Medicine.
Missing baby scandal
On February 5, 2014 Suwaiba Abdul Mumin was admitted to the hospital for the birth of her baby. She was informed that the baby was stillborn and when she asked to see the body, she was told it could not be found.[29] The bodies of four other children pronounced stillborn by the hospital that day were also missing.[30] The suspicious "vanishing of babies" made headlines with some suggesting an ongoing illegal baby selling business by midwives and hospital authorities. Seven people were charged but given bail on February 27, 2014. Minister of Health Sherry Ayitey placed the doctor and midwife, as well as the chief executive officer of the hospital, on indefinite leave.[29][30][31][32] She went ahead to propose a Ghc 50,000 compensation which was rejected by the Suweiba and her family who still maintain that the baby is alive.[33]
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