Leaders of the striking health workers in the Greater Accra Region say they may consider taking legal action against the deputy Attorney General, Kwame Osei Prempeh for making disparaging remarks about them. Osei Prempeh has said he had information that an indefinite strike declared by sections of the health workers was politically motivated. He told Joy News he was aware the leadership of the workers had been meeting with some NDC politicians ahead of the industrial action. “A section of the health workers leadership went and met a group of NDC politicians yesterday at Dome. They met first at a Goil Filling station belonging to a former NDC Minister and they moved to Kwabenya. I mentioned somebody, one of them whose only first name I know who my investigations has revealed works at the psychiatric hospital; he went with three nurses, one of the nurses was in nurse’s uniform, the two others were not in uniform and they went and met them. There is a leading opposition parliamentarian whose name for now I’m keeping who shepherded the meeting and therefore if anybody tells me that nobody has gone to... if perhaps the one who is speaking doesn’t know, he may be an innocent person. When I spoke I said that some of them are using the entire health workers for their political ends. If he doesn’t know then I’m telling him that he may be an innocent person really thinking that they are fighting for a just cause but some are also using them to achieve their political ends.” Osei Prempeh maintained that his source of information was within the ranks of the health workers and that the meeting was purposely to discuss the strike action. Osei Prempeh said there was nothing wrong for the health workers to demonstrate their grievances, which he said was already an issue of public knowledge, but he insisted that a section of the health workers had allowed themselves to be manipulated to embark on the strike. A leading member of the health workers’ group, Raymond Tetteh however said the deputy A-G’s comments were unfortunate and unfair. He said the strike action by a section of the health workers was not with the blessing of the national leadership and called on the striking workers to exercise restraint and give the appellate body some time to address their concerns. The President of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association, Alice Asare Allotey says the deputy Attorney General must provide evidence to support his allegations that striking health workers were influenced by opposition politicians or face legal suit. Mrs. Allotey says not only has Osei Prempeh’s pronouncements cast a slur on the integrity of the association she has chaired for more than a decade but it has also derailed efforts to prevail upon the striking workers to return to work. The health workers started the industrial action on Thursday to back demands for better service conditions which they had been agitating for since 2006. The workers had given a March 1 ultimatum to government to meet their demands, but the appellate body charged with the responsibility said it required up to the end of March to complete its work. Meanwhile the strike was reported to have crippled health delivery at the Ridge Hospital, where patients had been waiting hopelessly for care. Checks at the Ridge Hospital revealed that nurses and other paramedics were not at post. Patients, who went to the hospital on Friday, were stranded as there were no nurses to attend to them. The Out Patients’ Department was empty and the nurses’ office was locked. Some of the doctors had also not reported to work at the time Joy News visited the hospital. The Medical Superintendent at the, Dr. George Acquaye said the doctors were not at post because of the strike. He blamed the strike by the nurses at the Ridge hospital on threats from other health workers. However at Korle Bu, the strike was not yet effective. Some of the workers were on duty even though some of them stayed away from work. Meanwhile there was disquiet among nurses at the 37 Military Hospital over a backlog of unpaid salaries. Staff at the hospital do not go on strike but some workers who feel aggrieved say it is just a matter of time.