Retired doctors are likely to replace striking members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) as they prepare to resign as a group on Friday.
One of such retired doctors willing to fill the gap of the agitating GMA members is a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sore.
Dr Sore told Joy News the exigencies of the times at the health front calls for him and other retired doctors to come out of retirement and assist.
“I wouldn’t mind going to a hospital, at all”, he told Joy News.
Health Minister, Alex Segbefia, announced Monday that government has already engaged a number of retired doctors pending the outcome of service conditions negotiations with the GMA.
“The appeal is still open; any of them who are hearing me speak should take up the offer or get in touch with the Director General of the Ghana Health Service. We are willing to use retired doctors to fill in the gaps”, Mr Segbefia had said.Dr Sore said the call by the Health Minister is in the right direction.“I know that what the Ministry is doing is to get people back as soon as possible. But if the Minister has given the go ahead and call people, we have to rally around.“But for me what I am looking at now is to really appeal to my colleagues [striking doctors] that they have gone far enough at this time. Let us pause a little and see how things go,” the retired doctor said.
About 183 network of health facilities that make up the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) are currently struggling to deal with increased patient numbers as the strike by doctors at public hospitals enters week two.
Over 2,000 doctors within the Ghana Medical Association are holding the line to resign masse after Friday August 14, 2015 if demands for their conditions of service are not sorted out by government.
Government and GMA negotiations have broken down at least twice, the recent deadlock happening last Sunday.Government teams are still discussing proposals and counter proposals in respect of the conditions of service document sought by the doctors.
