Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Government spokesperson has revealed the government is quietly working behind the scenes to resolve the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) strike.
The minister asserted that the situation is very serious as it is about the lives of Ghanaian patients who go to seek health care.
Speaking on JOYNEWS PM Express Felix Kwakye Ofosu stated, “It’s a very serious matter. We are talking about the lives of Ghanaians—patients who go to seek health care. The expectation is that all necessary and relevant health professionals would be at post to deliver the best possible health care that one can think of. It is regrettable they have had to call this industrial action”.
“As a government, we have been engaged in backroom efforts to have the impasse resolved as quickly as possible so that they can go back to their posts and render the essential services that they are noted for”.
“Government holds enormous respect for all health professionals, and in this instance, in particular, the nurses and midwives. We know they play a very crucial role in the health delivery system”, he added.
Felix Kwakye further added, “Somebody remarked to me that a hospital can do without doctors, but it cannot do without nurses. And this is a doctor, actually, who told me this.”
“It was important that we updated the Ghanaian public on the steps being taken—one, to address the impasse itself, so that the nurses can go back to work, and two, what measures are in place to mitigate the effects on patients.”
“As a government, it’s our responsibility to look out for their welfare and do what we can to ensure that the strike does not imperil them and put them in harm’s way. This is something we need to resolve quickly. The nurses are too important to be away from their posts for long.”
Some of the demands being made by the striking nurses include,
- Book and research allowance
- Uniform allowance
- Fuel allowance
- 13th month allowance
- Night/Out of station allowance
- Vehicle maintenance allowance
- Kilometric allowance
- Funeral grant
- Annual professional licence renewal fees
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