Frontline Health Workers To Withdraw Services Over Outstanding Issues

Nurses, midwives, physician assistants and certified registered anaesthetics working in public health facilities across the country have threatened to withdraw their services from Monday, September 21.

Their action is intended to press home demands for better conditions of service.

This comes after series of negotiation meetings, which failed to yield desired results.

This was in a statement signed by the President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, Mr Emmanuel Yaw Appiah, President of the Ghana Physicians Assistants Association, and Mr Fredrick Kwame Kporxah, President of the Ghana Association of Registered Anaesthetists.

It said the Associations issued a communiqué on September 4, this year, informing their members about the posture of their Employer, which was contrary to Provision 97 of the Labour law 2003.

"A letter dated 9th September 2020 was also served on all stakeholders informing them about the status of the negotiation and the possible actions of the various Associations," it said.

The statement said though the posture of the Employer changed for the better at meetings held on September 15 and 16, 2020 it did not meet the expectations of the majority of the nurses, midwives, physicians assistants and the certified registered anaesthetists of Ghana, hence the strike action.

It urged the public to seek medical attention from other health facilities during the period of the industrial action.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Registered Midwives-Ghana (NARM-GH), in a statement signed by its President, Ridhwana Hawa Amoako-Agyei, asked members to disregard the call to withdraw services and remain at post whilst leadership continued to engage Government, through the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service, to resolve outstanding issues.

---GNA