Joseph Krampah, the Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), has expressed his personal view that suspending the Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) will not resolve the pending challenges confronting the facility.
He noted that the strike action declared by the nurses at the hospital was taken in solidarity with striking doctors.
He posited that the KATH nursing body operates with a degree of autonomy, meaning their actions directly reflect the immediate situation they face.
Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said, “The KATH GRMNA is an autonomous body, although they operate under the GRNMA name. But if there is an issue that may affect the work they do, then they have every right to act. There was a time nurses went on strike and doctors had to also lay down their tools because they felt without the nurses, they would not be able to work. So I think it is a solidarity to the doctors. How can the nurses work when the doctors are on strike? In my personal view, I think the decision by the nurses to strike is in solidarity with the doctors.”
He told host Kwabena Agyapong that authorities must act immediately to address the challenges raised by the staff.
He lamented that it has become the norm for authorities to ignore the challenges confronting health workers rather than providing tangible solutions.
This neglect, he said, frequently leads to the public attacking health workers and painting an unfair picture of them failing to perform their professional duties.
“It is high time our officials take off the political lenses and deal with the things that are hurting health professionals,” he added.
He stated that unlike Accra, which has alternative health facilities alongside Korle-Bu to handle emergencies, KATH faces the critical challenge of dealing with massive overcrowding and referrals from multiple regions. He noted that there are critical issues the employer must deal with to avoid needless political drama.
Furthermore, he indicated that the hospital’s decision to inform the public that it could no longer accept new emergency cases due to overcrowding was a step in the right direction, and should not have resulted in the CEO’s suspension.
To him, that strategy was the best approach to save human lives rather than dangerously overstretching the facility, asserting that there was little else the hospital management could have done.
“They should look at the issue and stop the orders. They should check the system and deal with the issues affecting the facility. That will help the public and health professionals working there,” he urged.
Mr. Krampah added that the CEO made a good call by admonishing officials to implement measures to operationalize the Sewua, Afari, and other regional facilities that have yet to open to the public. He maintained that from Sunyani through the middle belt to the North, all major cases are referred to KATH because no other major facilities exist to provide that level of critical healthcare.
Consequently, the lives of professionals at KATH will always remain in danger if these systemic challenges are not addressed.
When asked whether he was aware that the National Labour Commission (NLC) had declared the strike illegal, he responded, “At what point has the NLC declared a strike action legal in Ghana? The most important thing is to deal with the challenges and stop majoring in the minors. I am speaking in my personal capacity, and it is fair play to me for the health professionals to demand action.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
