KATH Strike: GRNMA urges government to operationalise key stalled hospital projects to bolster healthcare delivery in Ashanti Region
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) Jonas Afriyie, has publicly urged the government to operationalise unfinished health facilities in the region and recruit more nurses to bridge the healthcare gap permanently, rather than applying punitive actions.
His input comes at the backdrop of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) industrial strike entering its third day, resulting in severe disruption of healthcare delivery, leaving hundreds of patients stranded.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Anto said KATH operates as the primary referral hub for middle and northern zones, citing that the hospital is dealing with extreme congestion and structural deficits.
He stressed the need for the government to complete stalled hospital facilities like the Afari Military hospital, Sawia Regional Hospital, and the Oforikrom hospital to bolster healthcare delivery in the Region
“We don’t want to be part of the politics, when emergencies happen in Accra there are alternatives, in Ashanti region and the Northern sector, there are no alternatives. So Komfo Anokye is take or leave. We think that immediately, whatever it takes for government to operationalised will be very helpful.”
He noted that the aforementioned stalled hospital facilities can be operationalize even if it is not hundred percent complete
“We know that in operationalizing a hospital, sometimes not all the things are even complete, but we go in and work for like a year and the full operationalisation will be achieved.”
He again expressed concern over inadequate health personnel in the region, saying the operationalization of the said hospitals will create the needed environment for government to recruit
Jonas Afriyie further explains that the decision that led to the KATH CEO’s suspension was a clinical safety decision taken by the emergency team, arguing that the CEO should not have been punished.
“The grounds as of yesterday were not good for us to call off the strike, but we are hoping that things will change so we can rescind our strike action.”
According to him, the professional body took what they described as a sound clinical decision and has landed the CEO in undeserved trouble.
Source: Ghana/otecmfghana.com/Bismark Appiah
