Private medical practitioners raise red flags over Ghana’s COVID-19 management

The Society for Medical and Dental Practitioners is worried over what it describes as Ghana’s explosive COVID-19 case count and the poor government intervention to handle the outbreak four months after the country recorded its first two cases.

According to the group, issues such as the shortage in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), delays in testing time and the inadequacy of testing laboratories among others which have not yet been completely addressed raise serious doubt about the government’s commitment to reducing the rate of infections in the population.

In an elaborate statement to government, the society is demanding expedited steps to improve the country’s COVID-19 case management and response.

“The government must reserve its apparent position that the Ghanaian populace does not react adversely to the virus and must apply all needed protocols to limit the spread of the deadly virus. This must be rescinded publicly. In the light of the rising death rate, we the members of the Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners, wish to register our dismay over the national response to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic”, parts of the statement read.

Additionally, the medical and dental practitioners also raised concerns over the increasing number of cases, deaths and the high rate of infections among health workers.

They are also asking for more support to private health facilities to equip them in also testing and treating COVID-19 cases stating that “we deserve the necessary PPE to protect us as we attend to suspected COVID-19 patients and to preserve our lives and that of our families”.

Meanwhile, they have asked the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Health Ministry to restrategize the approach to dealing with the pandemic in order not to put the lives of the ordinary Ghanaian in danger.

“Mr. President, Mr. Minister of Health we are sorry to say that in asking us to follow the science, you are not making us believe that your decisions and response to the pandemic corresponds to the science. Mr. President, with the current state of affairs and the trajectory being followed by decisions from your office, we are witnessing an explosion”.

“This is not what we expected when you decided to ease the lockdown restrictions on the 31st of May 2020. We are all available to help and support you Mr. President, to arrest this explosion of COVID-19 cases in Ghana”, the group added in the statement.

Source: Citi