Striking junior doctors of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have refused to go back to work despite assurances that their additional duty hour (ADH) allowances for July and August should be ready at the bank for collection on Monday, October 9.
A source close to the administration told the GNA that a circular to this effect has already gone round but as at Saturday the doctors were no where to be found. The doctors on Friday withdrew their services following the non-payment of their allowances for the two months even though that of June was paid. "The nurses are trying to cope with cases. No admissions are being made," the source said.
Late Friday night, a few of the doctors turned up to only attend to their patients on admission.
"Fortunately there haven't been any emergencies so far... nurses at the Maternity Block said they have been able to handle most of the deliveries, which have been normal. "There was only one emergency case at the Surgical Emergency, involving a sicklier, who unfortunately died", the source added.
The source said the Korle Bu hospital administration is consulting with the ministry of health to separate the list of its doctors who qualify for the allowance from those from the regions in order to speed up the process of payment. "Our list is usually ready by the first week of every month, but we have to wait for the others to compile theirs... and this is one of the reasons reason for the delay. We are also trying to see if the ADH can be made part of the salaries at the end of every month, since we have a rough idea of the monies involved in the payment,” he added. The source however conceded that this might create a problem of some taking the allowance even though they might not have done any extra duty.
Meanwhile the doctors have said, henceforth they would go on strike without any notification if they do not receive their previous month's allowance by the 20th of the current month, according to a circular by the Ghana Medical Association after an emergency meeting, which endorsed the doctors' action.
