Korle Bu Allied Health Professions demand director now!
The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Chapter of the Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professions has called on the government to appoint a Director for Allied Health to supervise the affairs of the hospital.
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Led by its chairman, Dr Francis Kwakye Antwi, the association explained that for over 50 years, its members had been under medical directories. As a result, he said they had not been treated fairly over the years because of the absence of a director designated to champion their cause.
“In fact, in terms of opportunity to develop ourselves as professionals, we have been denied these opportunities for over 50 years and counting; all we are asking for is that give us our freedom.
“We are demanding the freedom now, not tomorrow. We are saying that we need a director who will supervise the activities of allied health professions in Korle Bu,” Dr Antwi added.
Event
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the chairman further said that the group had used all forms of lobbying necessary to resolve the challenge, but it had not yielded any result.
“So, last year, on November 14, we actually wrote to the board that we needed audience and a directorate, but the board did not respond to our letter. “On May 31, this year, we wrote a reminder to the board, still seeking audience,” he said.
r Antwi said that although the board had not granted the association any audience, “around July 9, 2024, we saw that they had advertised for the position of deputy director of medical affairs, into brackets, allied health”.
“This means that they are still boxing us under the medical directorate and giving us a deputy director. A hospital like Korle Bu does not deserve a deputy director of allied health.
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We deserve a director and even deputies under the director,” he said.
Strike
Failure to heed their request, the chairman said, would lead to a withdrawal of their services in a staggered way. Dr Antwi said if the board or management did not advertise for the position of director of allied health by close of today, “we will aggravate it into a full-blown strike”.
“We will withdraw OPD services tomorrow, and if the status quo remains by Monday, August 5,2024, “we are going to withdraw inpatient services in addition,” he said.
The chairman said if by Tuesday, August 6, 2024, the management still did not heed their call, “we are going to go into a full-blown strike which we will escalate to a nationwide strike if the story does not change”.
Support
For his part, the National President of the Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professions, Dr Shiraz Issahaku, said the association was aware of some unseen hands trying to fight their cause.
He described support from members of the association towards addressing their grievances as remarkable, saying it was an indication that nothing could impede their stance.