37, Police hospitals under pressure

The nationwide strike called by some main health workers’ groups, comprising doctors, nurses and pharmacists, has resulted in a lot of pressure on the existing health facilities of security services in the country.

A visit to the 37 Military Hospital and the Police Hospital in Accra yesterday showed hordes of patients trooping to the facilities, where they were sure of being attended to after doctors, nurses and pharmacists at government hospitals laid down their tools to back their demands.

Medical doctors and other staff of the security hospitals are still working as they are barred from going on strike.

During the visit, it was observed that the outpatient departments (OPDs) had been packed with patients waiting patiently to be attended to.

Others were seen on the corridors with their family members as they waited their turn to receive medical care.

One of the patrons at the 37 Military Hospital, Madam Rita Quansah, told the Daily Graphic that she had to travel about 40km from Kasoa to get medical attention for her 12-year-old son who had malaria. “I was told that it was only the 37 Hospital that now admits patients and so I got here as early as 4 a.m.” she said.

She, however, expressed the hope that problems leading to the strike action would be resolved soon “so that I can visit nearby hospitals to save transportation cost.”

Nationwide strike

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) declared a nationwide strike on July 30, 2015 to back members’ demand for the provision of conditions of service for medical officers in government employment.

Although negotiations have been ongoing with the government, the GMA members insist that they would only return to work when their demands were met.

The government has, however, called on the public sector doctors to call off their strike with immediate effect, describing the strike action as illegal.

In a statement issued last Monday, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said “the current withdrawal of services is illegal and government calls on the GMA to call off the partial strike with immediate effect.”

He said it was important for the government to conduct a financial analysis of the impact of any such conditions of service on government expenditure so that the annual budget submitted to Parliament was not adversely affected.

Mr Iddrisu also described as unfair and against the rules of labour practice for the GMA to declare a strike while negotiations were still ongoing.

Meanwhile, nurses of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) have embarked on strike to back their demands for improved conditions of service.

Temporary wards

To enable the Police Hospital contain the large influx of patients, a temporary ward would be created, the acting Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Corporal Faustina Afia Nunekpeku, told the Daily Graphic yesterday.

She said the hospital administration was currently identifying the most appropriate corridors of the facility such as spaces in front of the consulting rooms to serve as temporary wards for patients.

That, she said, was because the hospital was only a 100-bed facility comprising 70 beds for adults and 30 for children, which had to be increased to cater for the additional patients trooping in.

In addition, she said temporary tents which would be furnished with beds and curtains and installed with electricity would also be mounted on the hospital premises to serve as wards for the rising number of admitted cases.

“We have had to do this because if we should rely on what we have, it will not help us and considering the number of people that are coming in and the referral cases, I think the need has come for us to do it,” she explained.

No leave

On the number of available personnel on duty to serve the clients at the hospital, Corporal Nunekpeku said the hospital had suspended all pending leave applications from its staff until the strike action by the doctors is resolved.

“The need has also come for us to suspend the leave of staff members. This means that our doctors and nurses who would want to go on leave during this critical time have to wait until after the strike and even those on leave we have had to call back to come and assist,” she said.

Corporal Nunekpeku said the hospital was also considering the procurement of medication to meet the demands of its clients.

She, however, expressed optimism that the strike action would be called off soon in order to ease the burden on the hospital.

For his part, the Administrative Officer of the 37 Military Hospital, Lieutenant Colonel Rex Adzagba, said the facility was doing all it could to manage the situation, but added that if it should get out of hand, “we will treat it as a disaster”.