Patients intake increases at Police and 37 military hospitals

The two-week-old strike embarked on by junior nurses in public hospitals has put severe pressure on the Police hospital as well as the 37 military in Accra.

Dr E.K. Owusu-Afriyie, Director of Medical Services of the Police hospital, said the Out-Patients Department (OPD) which treats between 100 to 150 patients a day is now treating twice that number. He said the hospital is finding it difficult to manage the situation because of the increase in in-patients since the hospital has only 100 beds.

"What we are doing is to treat and discharge cases that are not serious. We are now forced to use benches as beds and even some patients are sleeping on the floor." Dr Owusu-Afriyie said the hospital's pharmacy department is now running out of drugs and they have to borrow from the suppliers and pay later.

The hospital is now forced to refer serious cases to other private hospitals, he said. A visit to the OPD and maternity and children's wards saw a lot of patients with some lying on benches waiting to see doctors.

At the Military hospital, the situation was not different. The OPD was crowded with patients but efforts to get the medical officer in charge for comments were not successful. In reaction to a publication in a private newspaper ?The Ghanaian Chronicle?, that nurses at the military hospital were getting ready to join the strike, Dr. Twum Medical officer in charge of the hospital said it was ?absolutely Rubbish? and that they do not have such a problem.

In another development, Dr J.B. Asare, Chief Psychiatrist of the Ministry and Specialist in charge of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, has described the situation at the mental hospital as not "very healthy ". He said all activities are virtually paralysed and patients have to be taken home by family members.

The few senior nurses around are taking care of those with serious cases. Dr Asare said what makes it worse is the inability of the hospital administration to get in touch with the striking nurses who "are nowhere to be found". Dr Asare said they have had to contact the ministry to inform them about the state of affairs in the hospital.