The Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr. Leslie Issah Adam-Zakaria, has revealed the extent of the disruption caused by the strike action of nurses belonging to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA).
Speaking to JoyNews on Thursday, June 5, Dr. Adam-Zakaria said the hospital was severely affected by the withdrawal of services, especially at key departments.
“The nurses in the hospital belong to various associations. The majority of them are part of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association(GRNMA), and unfortunately, they are the ones on strike,” he explained.
He said the strike has left the hospital without nurses in almost all departments. “Presently, we don’t have nurses at the various OPDs, we don’t have nurses at post. The emergency unit is in various parts, the part that receives new patients, we don’t have the nurses at post.
“The theatres where we perform emergency procedures, we don’t have nurses at post. The antenatal clinics where we attend to pregnant women, we don’t have midwives at post. And the labour wards where pregnant women come when they are about to deliver, we don’t have nurses at post,” he said.
According to Dr. Adam-Zakaria, the absence of nurses has forced doctors to step in and perform both their regular duties and those of the striking nurses. “The challenge we are facing is that doctors have to do some of the work of the nurses. We don’t have rotation nurses supporting us because they cannot work unsupervised, so they are not available,” he said.
He further clarified that, “The rotation nurses are like national service people who are supposed to work under supervision. If we bring them alone here, it means they are going to work without supervision because their bosses are on strike. So unfortunately for us, they are uncomfortable to work unsupervised.”
He described the situation as a strain on hospital operations. “We are under pressure, we hope that things get better,” he stated.
Despite the operational challenges, Dr. Adam-Zakaria said there have been no major security incidents so far. “Fortunately for us, we’ve not had any security challenges yet. We have a police post in the hospital so at least our police are close by and if there are any issues we can easily count on them to assist us,” he noted.
At the labour ward, he said, “The doctors are the ones receiving the patients now. Work that the midwives would have done, now the doctors have to assess the patients, assess the severity of the condition and if it’s one that needs urgent attention, they are received. If it is a case that can go home and come back or go to another hospital, the appropriate decision is taken.”
He admitted the situation has left doctors overstretched. “What it means is that the doctors are overburdened. And the nurses of the other unions are not many, so we don’t even feel their presence in trying to reduce the impact of the withdrawal of service by the GRNMA,” he added.
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