STORY: ZAINABU ISSAH
The ongoing strike by government hospital pharmacists in the country has brought activities to a halt as patients are left stranded following the closure of dispensaries.
The strike which began last Monday and has lasted for about a week has rendered the delivery of health care services incomplete as patients do not have access to prescribed drugs from the hospitals.
During a visit to the Ridge Hospital in Accra today, Daily Graphic discovered that notices were pasted on the entrance to the pharmacy to inform patients about the ongoing strike.
The notice read, “ Please Note: Due to the ongoing strike by the Government and Hospital Pharmacist, we regret to inform you that our services has been suspended until further notice, We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
The hospital pharmacy was also locked to prevent access by any means into it.
Some patients told the Daily Graphic that their only access to medications was to visit the nearby pharmacies like the Asylum Down pharmacy in order to buy medications for treatment.
“I had to go to the asylum down pharmacy today in order to get some medications prescribed by the doctor for the treatment of my sick sister who is being admitted here for sever malaria,” Madam Okyere, a sister of a sick patient at the Ridge Hospital said.
She said, the current access to medications at the government hospitals was very poor and pleaded on the government to do well in resolving the situation before it gets out of hand.
The government pharmacists abandoned their post last monday for an indefinite nationwide strike over their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
According to the executives of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists’ Association (GHOSPA), they were the only medical professionals yet to be moved onto the new salary structure.
A similar scene was observed at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital as two patients returned from the hospital’s pharmarcy dissappointed after being told that there were no drugs available as the pharmacists were on strike.
The door of the pharmacy was locked with chairs arranged infornt of it to sho no sign of work. A notice was also boldly pasted on the door of the pharmacy to inform patients of the ongoing strike.
At the La General Hospital, patients were seen holding their prescriptions, not knowing where to get drugs from. Some of the patients who had come for treatment sat on the corridors in the hope that something would be done about the situation.
Both the in-patient and out-patient pharmacy were also locked.
In an interview with Daily Graphic, the Medical Superintendent of the La General Hospital, Dr Patrick Frimpong expressed his dissappointment in seeing patients stranded on the corridors in the hospital.
He said the Hospital had to purchase medications from the open market to make basic drugs available to patients who could not afford private pharmacies.
He however stressed that the hospital had little money and so purchasing drugs from the open market was not a good idea.
He therefore appealed to pharmacists to reconsider their decision and also urged the necessary authorities to engage pharmacists in a dialogue to agree on how things could be made better.
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| THE RIDGE PHARMACY CLOSED TO PATIENTS |
The strike which began last Monday and has lasted for about a week has rendered the delivery of health care services incomplete as patients do not have access to prescribed drugs from the hospitals.
During a visit to the Ridge Hospital in Accra today, Daily Graphic discovered that notices were pasted on the entrance to the pharmacy to inform patients about the ongoing strike.
The notice read, “ Please Note: Due to the ongoing strike by the Government and Hospital Pharmacist, we regret to inform you that our services has been suspended until further notice, We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
The hospital pharmacy was also locked to prevent access by any means into it.
Some patients told the Daily Graphic that their only access to medications was to visit the nearby pharmacies like the Asylum Down pharmacy in order to buy medications for treatment.
 |
| THE LA HOSPITAL PHARMACY CLOSED |
She said, the current access to medications at the government hospitals was very poor and pleaded on the government to do well in resolving the situation before it gets out of hand.
The government pharmacists abandoned their post last monday for an indefinite nationwide strike over their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
According to the executives of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists’ Association (GHOSPA), they were the only medical professionals yet to be moved onto the new salary structure.
A similar scene was observed at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital as two patients returned from the hospital’s pharmarcy dissappointed after being told that there were no drugs available as the pharmacists were on strike.
 |
| THE KORLE-BU PHARMACY CLOSED. |
At the La General Hospital, patients were seen holding their prescriptions, not knowing where to get drugs from. Some of the patients who had come for treatment sat on the corridors in the hope that something would be done about the situation.
Both the in-patient and out-patient pharmacy were also locked.
In an interview with Daily Graphic, the Medical Superintendent of the La General Hospital, Dr Patrick Frimpong expressed his dissappointment in seeing patients stranded on the corridors in the hospital.
He said the Hospital had to purchase medications from the open market to make basic drugs available to patients who could not afford private pharmacies.
He however stressed that the hospital had little money and so purchasing drugs from the open market was not a good idea.
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| SOME OF THE NOTICES PLACED AT THE PHARMACY. |
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