‘Labour unrest could fuel brain drain’

The Universal Access to Healthcare Campaign (UAHCC) has tasked the Health Minister, Alex Segbefia, to do all he can to address the numerous labour unrests in the health sector to prevent further brain drain in the sector.

The campaign believes that human resource is one of the critical prerequisites for Ghana’s quest to achieve Universal Health Coverage, and urgency must be attached to issues such as labour unrest.

National Campaign Co-ordinator of UAHCC, Mr Archibald Adams said the campaign is asking the government to, as a matter of urgency, periodically meet with the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and ensure that issues raised in their Conditions of Service were resolved without compromising the interest of either party.

The GMA, after a meeting with government on Tuesday, June 29, 2015, has decided to defer its strike action from June 29 to July 29, 2015.

The GMA is one of the Health Service Workers Associations that is demanding conditions of service for its members to be documented.

Mr Adams noted that the UAHCC believes that because health is a critical aspect of life, the issues raised by GMA will be addressed before the deadline.

The GMA says it will gradually withdraw its services at the Out Patients Department (OPD) and the Emergency Department, and then effect total withdrawal of services if government fails to fulfil its part of the agreement.

The campaign is also urging the GMA to continually engage government on this issue.

In a related development, the campaign is encouraging government to, as a matter of urgency, devise a strategy to employ all trained health professionals.

It believes that in a nation that does not have the WHO required health professionals for its citizens, employing and retaining trained and qualified health professionals should be one of the priorities of the government.

The campaign urges the Health Minister to go by his promise and ensure that the members of the Coalition of Unemployed Nurses and Midwives are duly employed and all arrears of salaries are paid, and paid on time.

In another related development, the campaign is urging the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health to put in place strategies to prevent the numerous needless deaths that occurred last year as a result of the outbreak of cholera.

The 2014 cholera outbreak recorded 17,000 cases with 248 deaths. According to Mr Adams, the campaign believes that public education should be intensified, and asked Ghanaians to keep their surroundings clean, eat hot foods and wash their hands always with soap.

Mr Adams said the campaign, which has membership of more than 500 NGOs across the country, would continue to advocate for Universal Health Coverage for all Ghanaians.