Work stalls at public hospitals at Ho

Ho, Sept. 2, GNA - The sick at public hospitals in the Ho Municipality were not attended to as a result of the nationwide doctor's strike action.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) on a tour of health facilities on Friday morning found out that work at the Out-Patients Department (OPD) of the Municipal and the Regional Hospitals were at a standstill while those of two private hospitals had many patients. Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, Medical Director of Miracle Life Clinic, a Private Medical clinic at Ho said the situation had created a problem of ethics for the private clinics, as many of the patients could not afford private medical fees.

"We are in a dilemma of seeing sick people leave our premises unattended and running down our very essential businesses," he said. He said a 52-year old man from a nearby village who had to be scuttled from one outfit to the other before arriving at his clinic had died.

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on Thursday issued a directive to its members to withdraw their services from Friday in reaction to the failure of the Government to meet their demands to pay Additional Duty Hour Allowance (ADHA) on new salary levels by the close of August.

Dr Letsa said he could not fathom what would happen over the weekend if the situation persisted because many people would resort to self-medication at the peril of their lives.