Outpatient services have resumed at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and Adabraka Polyclinic following the end of the nationwide strike by Organised Labour that lasted for a day.
However, both hospitals experienced fewer patients than usual visiting their outpatient departments (OPDs) today.
Clinical Coordinator at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Susan Seffah, in an interview with JoyNews stated that the lower turnout at the OPD could be as a result of people assuming that the strike was still ongoing.
This low patient turnout comes after the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) initiated actions to get its members to lay down their tools starting Monday, July 15, in support of the strike by Labour.
Per a roadmap, health workers on Monday, July 17 withdrew all outpatient services.
Organised Labour declared an indefinite nationwide strike following the National Pensions Regulatory Authority’s (NPRA) approval for the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), to proceed with its controversial plan to offload a 60% stake in four hotels to Food and Agriculture Minister, Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel.
According to the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, the Union did not understand why the NPRA would allow SSNIT to proceed with the deal without further engagement after it initially ordered SSNIT to halt the process.
Organised Labour on Monday suspended the industrial action and asked workers to return to work on Tuesday.
SSNIT had complied with a key demand of Labour to cancel the sale deal altogether as a key requirement to call of the strike.
According to Dr Seffah, she expects patient numbers to normalise from later in the day.
“So on a normal Tuesday, we expect more numbers at the OPD. We usually would have 150 to 200 patients walk in to be attended to. Both patients who are being reviewed and new cases, but today, the numbers are down. I am not exactly sure why it is down because yesterday, the OPD did not run. I was expecting that there would be more numbers today but the day is still young so let’s see how it goes throughout the day,” she said.
According to JoyNews’ correspondent, Kenneth Gyasi, administrators at the Adabraka Polyclinic declined to speak on camera but expressed optimism that more patients would come in as the day went by.
According to them, patients could be self-medicating, which could also pose a serious danger.