Private hospitals in Kumasi are currently choked as pressure resulting from the strike by nurses and midwives, mounts.
Referral cases have also been affected by the impasse.
3news’ William Evans-Nkum reports that normally a busy place, now a deserted one, that’s the current state of the Suntreso Government Hospital. The strike by the nurses has literally crippled the facility.
The Mother and Baby Unit is one of the adversely affected units.
“Not many hospitals are taking care of newborn babies and the doctors for as much as we are able to do the work that nurses do but we are not, our number is not as much as the nurses number, so it’s very difficult for us to continue taking care of very sick babies on admission in the absence of our nurses,” Dr Ashura Bakari, Padiatrician at the Suntreso Hospital said.
“Ordinarily you’re supposed to have a nurse working on this particular baby, but it is the doctor who has to abandon the consulting room and all other duties just to be here and ensure that she delivers,” she added.
The story is different at the Anwiam Hospital, a private health facility.
“Surgeries have increased significantly. Over the last, I would say about four days, we’ve done over
He added that, “The labor ward is also seeing astronomical admissions. And they come in continuously throughout the whole night because when they go to Komfo Anokye they are sent back, they are sent back here. Emergency cases are coming back.”
For his part, Dr Gabriel Boakye, Medical Director of Anwiam Hospital said, “We have to manage, we have to do the best that we can. Sometimes we refer the patients and the patient comes back to you, so we do the best that to the best of our ability and to the best of our knowledge and capability.
Meanwhile, Belinda Tetteh reports that private hospitals across the Bono East Region are experiencing a significant surge in Out-Patient Department (OPD) numbers, as the ongoing nationwide strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) continues to cripple public healthcare services.
With public facilities operating at a minimal capacity or entirely shut down due to the withdrawal of nursing and midwifery staff, patients are increasingly turning to private institutions for essential medical care, leading to overcrowded waiting areas and stretched resources.
Our Bono Regional correspondent, Claude Kumi Abisa also reports that the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Hospital in Fiapre-Sunyani is facing severe operational challenges as it struggles to manage an influx of patients with minimal staff.
The Administrator of SDA Hospital, Enoch Opoku Nketia, reported troubling statistics with outpatient department (OPD) attendance soaring over 100%.
The increased demand for healthcare services is particularly severe in critical areas such as the Emergency Unit and the Maternity and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Nurse Linda Afful, who works in the NICU, expressed her concerns, stating that the facility is currently operating beyond its capacity.
Dr. Philip Karikari, the Medical Director of the SDA Hospital, voiced his frustrations regarding the situation, emphasizing the precarious nature of healthcare delivery at the facility during the strike.
Patients and their families have shared their distressing experiences with 3news, highlighting the urgent need for a resolution to this crisis.
Members of the GRNMA have been on strike since June 2. They are demanding the implementation of an approved Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration.
A demand which has been denied by the current Mahama administration on grounds of financial constraints. Government wants to postpone the implementation to 2026, but the nurses have rejected the proposal.
A meeting with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health resulted in a decision to reconvene in two weeks for further discussions.
