Pantang Hospital workers on sit-down strike
Workers at the Pantang Hospital yesterday began a sit-down strike in protest against the government’s failure to stop private developers who had encroached on the hospital’s land.
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Although the workers went to hospital yesterday, they refused to attend to new patients. They attended to only children, the aged and patients at the maternity ward.
During a visit to the hospital Monday, the Daily Graphic observed that the usual hustle and bustle at the hospital’s Psyco-patients Department was absent, as patients were turned away.
The striking staff had earlier served notice of their intention to lay down their tools if their concerns were not addressed.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the local chairperson of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Mrs Winifred Peasah, said the hospital authorities had shown no commitment to deal with the situation hence their decision to embark on the action.
“We realised that nothing was coming out of it after we had gone to management to discuss it. We saw a bulldozer clearing the land in front of the hospital. When you go to the authorities, they tell you we are working on it but nothing is happening. All that we are asking for is for the government to halt the development that is going on here,” she said.
Security
Mrs Peasah said the staff members were sometimes threatened by squatters who had taken over the area.
She explained that some people had taken advantage of the development in front of the hospital by placing temporary structures, including kiosks, to sell alcohol and marijuana to patients.
“Because people are erecting buildings there, others have taken advantage of it to place kiosks which are being used to sell alcohol, marijuana and other prohibited items there. This is the situation in which we have our patients who are substance and alcohol abusers, and when they abscond from the wards they go to the nearby places to get substances to use,” Mrs Peasah said.
Next action
The local chairperson served the strongest notice yet that the workers would hit the streets if no action was taken to address their concerns.
“After today and tomorrow if no action is taken, although the chief executive officer has spoken to us, if we do not see anything concrete happening by Wednesday, we will hit the streets and put our tools down totally,” Mrs Peasah said.
Maternity
A patient who was delivered of a baby at the hospital yesterday, Ms Millicent Tei, said she had been taken good care of since her admission last Sunday.
Background
Hospital staff and students of the two training schools, Pantang Nurses Training College and Pantang Nursing and Midwifery Training College, were concerned about the total takeover of the frontage of the Pantang Hospital by private developers.
According to them, the workers had engaged the hospital management and relevant agencies, including the Ghana Mental Authority, the Ministry of Health, the Lands Commission, the National Security, the Municipal Directorate, the Adenta Police Station, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council as far back as 2015.
Despite the efforts by the hospital management to have the issue addressed, the staff said they did not see any action to stop the illegal developers, hence their decision to embark on a sit-down strike.