The Ghana government has asked striking members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) in public health facilities to return to work while they continued to negotiate.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry of Health (MOH) here on Monday and signed by Tony Goodman, Head of Public Relations.
The statement also urged members of the public to remain calm as the government continued with negotiations to find an amicable settlement to the crisis.
?The GMA is aware that, as providers of essential services, they are enjoined by section 162 of the Labor Act to refer any issues they may have with the negotiation process to the Labor Commission if they are of the view that negotiation has broken down,? it said.
The statement asked all heads of directorates in all health facilities to be at post to work with the other non-striking staff available during the period of the strike action.
It also asked that heads of the various units should ensure that there were continuous emergency services, including maternity services, at all health facilities, while asking that patients on admission should be continuously managed as long as they remained in the facility.
?All emergency rooms should remain open for non-striking staff to handle emergency cases and co-ordinate referrals with all quasi-government health institutions, including the military and police hospitals across the country,? it said.
The statement asked managers of health facilities to communicate with quasi health institutions to ensure the delivery of seamless emergency care during the period.
It said the ministry had directed that all ambulances should remain on standby across the country to help co-ordinate emergency services.
It added that the ministry was monitoring the situation to ensure the provision of emergency health responses in major facilities as well as continue to provide the necessary logistics needed to mitigate the effects of the strike action.
The statement also urged members of the public to remain calm as the government continued with negotiations to find an amicable settlement to the crisis.
As part of their roadmap, the doctors say there will be withdrawal of OPD services for a week, after which emergency services will be withdrawn if government fails to meet their demands.
This will be followed by mass resignation if there is still a stalemate.
The doctors say anything short of fully signed conditions of service on Wednesday cannot bring them back to the hospitals.
Reacting to the government?s appeal, the President of the GMA, Dr Kwabena Opoku Adusei, told the state-run Daily Graphic that no government official had approached the association to reconsider its decision.
He explained that if the GMA was officially approached, the GMA Council would meet to deliberate on it.
Meanwhile, local media reports yet to be verified indicate that three persons have been confirmed dead at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra following the strike action.
Local radio network, Joy News, reports said there was no doctor to attend to the health care needs of the patients when they were brought to the OPD of the hospital Saturday.
The doctors have vacated the consulting rooms in protest over the absence of a condition of service document that will guide their occupation.
A planned meeting with government officials and stakeholders to negotiate and agree on a roadmap for comprehensive conditions of service document ended in a deadlock.
Part of their demands included 40 percent of basic salaries as accommodation allowance per month; 20 percent as core duty facilitation allowance, 30 percent clothing allowance; 20 percent maintenance allowance, 20 percent utility allowance, 50 percent as professional allowance; and 25 special risk allowance and vehicle tax exemption to doctors.
The proposal has been condemned severally by government spokespersons some of whom have described the demands as outrageous. Enditem
