Junior doctors' strike is against professional ethics- Provost

Accra, July 21, GNA- Professor Seth Ayettey, Provost of the College of Health Sciences, on Wednesday described the decision of junior doctors to embark on industrial action to press government for higher salary, as contrary to the ethics of the profession. He said they should remember that their patience must come first under all circumstances.

Prof. Ayettey was speaking to the press after an award ceremony by the UNILIVER Foundation for Education and Development.

He said the use of industrial action to press demands was not the best and appealed to the doctors to enter into dialogue with authorities while working to prevent patients from further suffering.

Prof. Ayettey also appealed to government to expedite action on the salary differences of the junior doctors, review their salary structure, and additional Duty Hour Allowances as well as other conditions of service to encourage them to stay in the country.

Prof. Ayettey said salaries as low as 1.5 million cedis were woefully inadequate for medical doctors who had spent about seven years in training.

He added that the need to review the salary was paramount "to prevent these young doctors from running after greener pastures outside the country."

He said that there was no need for government to wait for such actions to be taken by workers before addressing the issues, adding that such actions retarded development processes and created confusion and hardships.

Prof. Ayettey appealed to the government to urgently address the issue to ensure peace in the health sector.

Junior Doctors at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Tuesday began a 48-hour strike to press government to expedite action on their new salaries. 21 July 04