For the benefit of patients and the larger healthcare system, Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) physicians have been urged by Health Minister Kwabina Mintah Kandoh to end their strike and resume talks.
On Thursday, April 24, at a news conference in Accra, he made a plea to the physicians.
“My humble appeal to the medical doctors and health practitioners at Tamale Teaching Hospital is that I am the first person to take care of your interests. Therefore, let us call off the strike and let us all regroup and strategise the way forward. There are some of the things we can do with our internally generated funds, so please, let us confront the issues as they are,” he appealed.
Mr. Akandoh also emphasized the necessity of a change in the way resources are managed in the health sector, specifically with regard to the acquisition and upkeep of medical equipment.
He pointed out that although the government keeps spending money on medical supplies and infrastructure, long-term asset management needs to take a more sustainable approach.
“There are some of the things we easily do with our internally generated funds. It is just not sustainable for the government to keep donating equipment to health facilities, and at the end of the day, when the equipment is obsolete, we run back to the government for money to either maintain or replace this equipment,” he cautioned.
In response to the minister’s surprise visit to the hospital on Tuesday, the doctors have stopped providing emergency services and fired the facility’s CEO.
A news statement that was released on April 23 contained this information.
The DATTH announcement made clear that “all DATTH members have proceeded on an indefinite suspension of all emergency and outpatient services with immediate effect.”
Along with outlining their demands, the doctors also called for the availability of basic medical supplies and equipment, such as oxygen, a steady supply of electricity and water, and consumables like syringes and gloves.
“We shall resume provision of emergency and outpatient services after we receive appropriate apologies,” the statement read.
The doctors also requested medium-term resources, such as a mammography machine, CT scan machine, MRI machine, and other necessary equipment to help them in their work.
Statement Below:
Source: newsthemegh.com