The immediate past President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Dr Kwaku Asante-Krobea, has laid the blame in respect of the ongoing strike by members of the Association, at the doorsteps of the Minister of Health, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh.
He explained that the Minister has failed in his duty.
“I am happy that at this point in time, we are all agreeing that the withdrawal of services by nurses and midwives is consequential to breakdown of negotiations. And so, it is important for the Minister of Health to understand the fact that it is incumbent on him to do the bidding of the nurses and midwives so that we can move forward in arriving at an amicable solution for this problem,” Dr Krobea said on TV3’s News360 on June 10.
His statement was in reaction to a call by the Health Minister earlier in the day for retired nurses and midwives to go to the hospitals and hold the fort as the impact of the strike embarked on by members of the GRNMA intensifies.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on June 10, Mr Akandoh said “given the seriousness of the situation, government appeals to public-spirited retired nurses and midwives to volunteer their services for a brief period pending the resolution of the impasse.”
According to Dr Asante-Krobea, there is no way the retirees will honour that invitation.
“It saddens my heart that the Minister is mobilising retired nurses and midwives to come and hold the fort. It is a dangerous move to make. It is a measure in futility, because the Minister should know that the retired nurses and midwives will not come. Because they are life members of the Association and the Association takes care of them,”
He therefore urged the Minister to look for a more plausible strategy in dealing with the situation.
“And the other side is that, the Minister should not deceive Ghanaians. Does he know where they are? How many of them can he mobilise? and if a small number comes, are they able to stand in for the critical nurses in all the various intensive care units in the various hospitals to support the surgeons in doing operations?” the former GRNMA President queried.
He added that, “So, the Minister, if he is listening to me, I am letting him know that he is not going to succeed in getting the retired nurses and midwives to come. I am telling you emphatically that they are not going to come. The fact that people are losing their lives and the conditions of people who come to the hospitals are worsening is not in doubt, and we have to blame the Minister,” Dr Krobea asserted.
