Doctors are holding the nation Hostage

The General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC) Bernard Mornah,has expressed worry over the current situation of striking doctors all over Ghana.

Commenting on the on-going strike by the medical doctors which has lasted about fifteen days, Mr Mornah said on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji show that Ghanaians value the work of their doctors and other health workers but people working in the health sector should always carry ‘a human face’ in the work they do.

“We value the work of our doctors, we value the work of our health workers and we think that in doing that work, they must carry also a human face in what they do,” Mr Mornah said.

“It is not their stay out of work that will certainly resolve the issue but their stay out of work will lead to many elongated health issues, deaths and sometimes complications that would have been averted".

He noted that the Labour Act was enacted by Parliament out of the respect Ghanaians have for laws and institutions.

Out of the Labour Act, it is expected that all labour related disputes are handled by the Labour Commission.

“Unfortunately, it appears that institutions that are even learned and are supposed to understand why we have laws, why we have rules and regulations governing us do not understand.”

There have been many calls by various groups some of which including the Christian council, Muslim council, the Chief Imam’s office among others appealing to doctors to call off the strike but it seems all these calls and appeals fell on deaf ears.

The Country’s population is about 25million. Out of that, there are about 2,000 doctors and according Mr Mornah, the Doctor-Patient population ratio is nothing good to write home about. In every nation, health care delivery is very paramount to economic success.

“All we hear the doctors saying is their work is so essential that they don’t want to compromise on conditions of service. I have said time without number that there is no Ghanaian worker whose work is not essential and that the farmer is essential to the work of a doctor.”

“If the farmer does not produce, the doctor will not get to eat and if you don’t get to eat, you cannot have the energy to go through the basic things you do in a day. If Electricity Cooperation of Ghana decides that they are not going to work, the doctors will certainly not be in the position to operate.”

“If Water company, decide that they are not going to work, doctors cannot operate and none of us can. If the janitors don’t work, the stench in the hospitals will not permit the doctors to have an environment to work. Therefore its beats my imagination that all of a sudden people want to consider superiority and work with it.”

He emphasized that the stance taken by the Ghana Medical Association is not healthy for the growth of our nation.

“ Worker must get themselves up to the standard that they will constantly engage with authority to ensure that there is improvement in their working conditions and that indeed in their income.”

“But you don’t have to hold the whole nation hostage as they are doing now so that at the end of the day, we will have to succumb to them. I find that extremely unacceptable and I pray that doctors will come to some day to realize this.”