Gambling with human lives

It is a relief to know that finally, the Ghana Medical Association has called off their strike. However, during these three weeks of seeking better conditions of service, some wards in certain big hospitals which could accommodate more than twenty patients had only two patients. I asked myself, ‘how many people who are in bad health conditions will die as a result of this fight for better conditions of service. This is a question we must all answer including our noble doctors.

There has been a lot of lambasting from different angles; politicians, journalists, doctors themselves and “ordinary” Ghanaians like myself. Funny enough, politicians, one of the groups spearheading this blame game is guilty of the same crime as the doctors; “GAMBLING WITH HUMAN LIVES”. Politicians enjoy a lot of privileges which they think they deserve but when any other group of professionals makes any attempt to seek even a fraction of these privileges, politicians go to every length to brand these groups as unpatriotic. It is high time our politicians show us the way to this kind of patriotism they preach by relinquishing some of these privileges.

Looking at this issue from a different perspective, it is pathetic to say that even though doctors were on strike and no new admissions were being made, other health workers such as our hardworking nurses, biomedical scientists and sonographers were still at their posts, which begs the question; DON’T ALL THESE HEALTH WORKERS DESERVE BETTER CONDITIONS OF SERVICE? It is true that these other groups of health workers have not been proactive enough regarding their working conditions, it wouldn’t be in the right direction if the whole cake is given to only doctors and denying the others a fair share.

One sector of health care which needs attention is the ambulance service. It is a sore sight if you witness concerned bystanders trying to help accident victims. Their concerns though genuine, their approach is often wrong and potentially dangerous which leads to avoidable deaths of victims who were in a critical condition and injuries in several others. All these can be minimized if the ambulance service is equipped with more resources and skilled personnel since what they have currently is woefully inadequate.

Our country has not been up to the task when it comes to proper allocation of resources but it is not too late. Everybody deserves to enjoy better conditions of service but when it comes to human lives, we should all have in mind that no matter who you are and your professional or social background, you may have the legal right but never the moral right to deny the people of this country services that may save their lives. Our nation calls on us. This is the time.

By:

Prince Kyei Baffour

Email: princekyeibaffour@yahoo.com