Pharmacists in govt hospitals begin indefinite strike
Pharmacists in government hospitals yesterday began an indefinite strike to press home their demand for fair treatment.
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The pharmacists, numbering about 600 across the country, are demanding that their salary grade structure, Interim Market Premium and conditions of service should be reviewed by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
Situation on ground
According to them, since the inception of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) seven years ago, pharmacists in government hospitals had been receiving lower salaries than their counterparts in other quasi-government institutions such as the Legon Hospital and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
A visit to the Korle Bu Teaching (KBTH), the Ridge Hospital and the La General Hospitals - all in the Greater Accra Region - confirmed that the strike was in force, as patients and their relatives were being turned away to buy their prescribed drugs at private pharmacy shops.
At the Korle Bu Outpatients Pharmacy, just like at all the other pharmacies at the teaching hospital such as the children’s block, maternity and surgical pharmacies, notices had been posted to the effect that the pharmacies were out of service to the public due to the ongoing GHOPSA strike.
At the La General Hospital, the Inpatients Pharmacy was shut when the Daily Graphic visited the place.
A notice had been posted there, informing the public about the industrial action.
At the Ridge Hospital, the pharmacists had deserted the pharmacy and retired to an inner room where clients had no access to.
A woman whose daughter was in labour and needed drugs for her was left dejected as nobody told her what was going on.
It took the intervention of this reporter to get a staff member to come out and explain to her that she needed to get the medicine from a private pharmacy which was about 300 metres away from the hospital because they were on strike.
Interviews
In an interview with the General Secretary of the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOPSA), Nana Emmanuel Owiafe, he said the strike was indefinite and that for now, the pharmacists were attending to only inpatients.
At the KBTH, the immediate past Chairman of GHOPSA, Mr Stephen Corquaye, said the indefinite strike was the only option left for the association to take as its request for resolving the issue was long overdue.
The Korle Bu representative of GHOPSA, Mr Nathaniel Coompson, in an interview, said due to that very issue, he and his other colleagues had not been promoted for the past seven years.
According to him, although they were seniors to most of their colleagues in other quasi-government institutions, there were glaring disparities in their salaries.
He said whereas pharmacists in government institutions received 58 per cent as premium on their salaries, those in the other institutions were given a premium of 114 per cent on their salaries.
Mr Coompson, who is also a Principal Pharmacist, said if the anomaly was not corrected, they would be forced to withdraw inpatient services to further drum home their grievance.
Bolgatanga
Alhandu Abdul-Hamid reports that only inpatients at the regional hospital were being attended to.
A patient, Madam Comfort Ayeo, whom the Daily Graphic spoke to, expressed how frustrated she was at the turn of events when she could not buy drugs at the outpatients pharmacy.
She appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency and in the interest of the poor and vulnerable, seek an amicable settlement of the issue for the pharmacists to return to work.
Ho
From Ho, Mary Anane reports that pharmacists in government health facilities were at post yesterday.
At the Ho Municipal Hospital and the Volta Regional Hospitals, the pharmacists were attending to patients with no indication that they were on strike.
Though those contacted were reluctant to speak, they said they were at post because they had only been verbally informed about the strike and had not received any letter asking them to do so.
Tamale
When the Daily Graphic toured some public health facilities in the Tamale Metropolis including the Tamale Teaching and the Tamale Central Hospitals, it observed that almost all the pharmacy counters at the hospitals were empty, reports Zadok Kwame Gyesi.
At the TTH, for instance, most of the pharmacies were closed and notices had been posted on them announcing the strike.
“Dear customer, due to the ongoing strike by hospital pharmacists nationwide, we are unable to serve you till further notice,” the notice at TTH read.
Mr Musah Muniru, a patient, said the strike had created a lot of inconvenience for patients who visited the hospital, particularly those using the National Health Insurance cards.
Unlike the TTH where most of the pharmacies were closed, as of the time of the Daily Graphic’s visit, staff at the Pharmacy Department at the Tamale Central Hospital were at post serving patients.