Over 1,500 allied health professionals at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have threatened to withdraw OPD services on Friday August 2.
The allied health professionals are demanding that the Management of Korle-Bu appoints a director for their department instead of a medical doctor.
For more than ten years now, the allied health professionals at Korle-Bu has been demanding a director to head their unit.
But their concerns were not adhered to by the Management of the hospital.
The health professionals again engaged the Management and the Board to ensure the appointment of a director to head their unit and that also failed.
This has angered them, thus they have decided to withdraw their services entirely from Monday, August 5.
Local President of the Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professionals, Dr. Francis Kwakye Antwi asked the Management to act fast or risk disturbances on the health front.
“We have developed ourselves as professionals, but we have been denied this opportunity for over fifty years now and counting. And now thankfully, Korle Bu is hundred years and as we are celebrating our hundred years all we are asking for is that you give us our freedom and this freedom we are demanding it now, not tomorrow”.
“We are saying now that we will need a director who will supervise the activities of allied health professionals, so throughout our struggle we have managed through various tactics for our independence for us to represent ourselves where decisions are taken”.
He emphasised that members are agitated and will not back down until a director is appointed for them.
“If the Management and the Board do not advertise the position of director of allied health today and by close to midnight today and they don’t advertise on Thursday, that is tomorrow, we are going to start with work to rule which will aggravate into a full blown strike and the second of August which is Friday withdraw OPD services and then Monday nationwide strike.”.
Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of Korle-Bu Teaching hospital Dr. Opoku Ampomah has declined to speak on the matter.
Source:onuaonline.com