The Mental Health Nurses group, Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital, have petitioned the Minister of Health, Kweku Agyemang-Manu, to sack the Director of the hospital, Mr Eugene Dordorye, for his poor leadership style which is affecting especially, the nurses and operations of the hospital.

The nurses say all complaints through the Deputy Director of Nursing Service in-charge, and efforts by the Psychiatric Nurse Group for Mr Dordorye to change his leadership style have been in vain.

The nurses, in a statement, said they have on several occasions been prevented from rioting in the hospital to register their displeasure and called for his removal and are therefore calling on the Minister to remove Mr Dordorye from the office for peace to prevail at the Akaful Psychiatric Hospital.

The nurses accuse Mr Dordorye of “harassments, intimidation, victimisation, fault findings and other negative findings”.

The nurses alleged that Mr Dordorye issues verbal threats to nurses like: “I will make your live uncomfortable.”

Other examples of intimidation cited include, “A pregnant nurse tested positive for malaria parasite with obvious signs and symptoms of malaria and was given an excuse duty by a physician assistant. The hospital director asked the prescriber why he gave the excuse duty to the nurse.

“Another instance was when a nurse had asthmatic attack and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment where she was given an excuse duty. When the nurse presented the excuse duty to this facility, the hospital director drove to the said hospital to question the prescriber why he gave the excuse duty to his staff. He threatened to punish the said nurse for going to a different hospital for treatment instead of where she works.”

The nurses further say: “There is too much interference in the decision of the nursing division by the hospital director such as determining which nurse becomes the in-charge of a particular ward, direction on how duty rosters should be prepared, influencing reshuffling of staff and removing nurses he doesn’t like from a particular department.”

The nurses are therefore calling for his removal to create an enabling environment for them to continue their working in peace.