Patients on admission ignorant of health sector strike

Ho, June 9, GNA-A number of critically ill patients on admission at the Ho Municipal Hospital risked being abandoned in the wards following the strike of doctors, nurses and other health workers at the hospital. A number of such patients, who were still in some of the wards at 1300 hours on Friday told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that they were unaware of the strike and expressed surprise at the turn of events. At the male ward annex where patients, both male and female with coughing problems were on admission, one Mrs Vicentia Dormenya, who was attending to a relative told the GNA that one Mr Anku, who was treating the patients told them to continue taking their drugs and that they would meet on Monday.

One of the patients said she saw an unusually large number of in-patients with their luggage moving out of some of the wards but did not know what was happening.

The children's ward was completely empty, while there were a few patients in the female and male wards some of whom said they had been discharged while others who looked critically ill said they had not been discharged.

The dispensary, laboratory and dressing departments were locked and the Out-Patient-Department (OPD) deserted.

The few nurses in some of the wards were seen preparing to leave and would not speak to the GNA regarding the fate of those still on admission when questioned.

Offices of the hospital's administration have all been locked. Telephone calls to the Regional Hospital went unanswered. On Wednesday Dr Gafatsi Normanyo, Medical Superintendent in-charge of the Municipal Hospital told the GNA that the regional division of the Ghana Medical Association was about to meet to decide whether to embark on strike and hinted that the decision was going to be in favour of a strike action.

Meanwhile the Management of the Ho Municipal Health Insurance Scheme told the GNA that it was making contingency plans to enable its clients to seek medial attention at the Miracle Life Clinic, the only private health facility selected by the Scheme to attend to its clients.