Nurses and other health workers at Manhyia hospital embark on strike action
Medical wards and consulting rooms at the Manhyia Government Hospital in Kumasi, have been closed following a strike action by nurses and other health workers at the facility.
The strike action by the nurses is to back their demand for the removal of Mr Alex Opoku Mensah, as the Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS).
Mr Opoku Mensah is alleged to have verbally assaulted a nurse on duty at the hospital, when he went to the facility to enquire about a misunderstanding between the nurse and a house officer, who happened to be his daughter.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the hospital on Friday afternoon, most of the wards and consulting rooms had been closed under lock and key.
There were neither nurses nor patients at the out-patients-department while the ante-natal clinic, the VIP wards, the emergency consulting rooms and others, were closed.
There was no nurse in uniform at the facility during the visit.
Patients who were seen entering the facility were directed by the security men to return home since there was nobody to take care of them.
Dr Kamarudeen Korku Hussein, Medical Superintendent of the hospital confirmed the strike action to the Ghana News Agency and said authorities were working around the clock to get the workers back on duty.
The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) after receiving a report on the alleged verbal abuse of a nurse at the Manhyia government hospital, gave the Government a 72-hour ultimatum to dismiss Mr Opoku Mensah as the regional director of NSS.
According to the Association, the behaviour of Mr Opoku Mensah made him unfit for a position as a director in the public service.
Meanwhile, the management of the National Service Scheme, has suspended Mr Opoku Mensah pending investigations into the alleged verbal assault of a nurse at the Manhyia government hospital.
The management took the decision after an emergency meeting on November 30, this year.
Source: GNA