Armed robbers target health personnel in Cape Coast

Cape Coast, March 2, GNA - Health workers living in and around Cape Coast are gripped with fear following armed robbery attacks on some personnel of the Ghana Health Service both at Ankaful and the regional hospital staff quarters.

The attacks took place within two months.

The latest incident was the attack on two senior doctors of the Ankaful Leprosy/General Hospital last Sunday during which they received cutlass wounds.

During the first incident some two months ago, accountants of the Municipal Health Directorate and the Ankaful Leprosarium were attacked at their residents at Ankaful and unspecified amount of monies taken away together with their cellular phones and jewellery. Some nurses were also attacked and their phones taken away from them.

Nurses living around the regional hospital staff quarters at Pedu who closed late in the night were also attacked on their way home from work and their monies and phones collected from them. Briefing the press on last Sunday's incident, Dr Aaron Offei, the Regional Director of Health Services, expressed worry over the issue and said the attitude of the police was questionable.

Dr Offei said Dr. Ekow Amankrah Otabir, the Head of the Ankaful District Hospital, and his assistant, Dr Mensah, were attacked. He said last Sunday Dr Otabir heard dogs barking and thinking that he was going to be called to attend to an emergency case, he got up but realised armed men had broken into his hall.

Dr. Otabir was asked to bring out all his money and when he gave out 3.2 million cedis to the robbers, they asked for foreign currency but he told them he did not have it.

The robbers asked him to lie down and slashed his back with cutlass several times after which they collected his wedding ring, two mobile phones and beat his children.

Dr Offei said Dr Otabir's cries for help attracted Dr Mensah who called the Elmina police but never got a response.

He later called a driver of the hospital who also tried to call the police but there was no response. The driver called a friend who lived near the Elmina police station but when he got there he had to wake the police officers up.

The policemen asked him to write a statement before they would attend to the distress call.

Dr Offei said the police got to the crime scene three hours after the robbers had left.

Dr Mensah's 250,000 cedis, mobile phone and wedding band were also taken away together with some coins while he also sustained cutlass wounds in both arms.