Pharmacists across the country have resolved to withdraw their services, an action that will put more lives at risk, especially with doctors already on strike.

The pharmacists met the Chief of Staff last week, Friday, over single spine pay policy concerns, but his intervention failed to avert a strike.

The pharmacists say they have run out of patience and cannot wait for August 6 as requested by the Chief Staff. The strike takes immediate effect from today August 3, 2015.

National Chairman of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association, Stephen Corquaye told Joy FM’s Top Story Monday after a nationwide council meeting today, their members insisted their concerns “should have been expressly dealt with”.

A year ago, the Chief of Staff directed the Finance Ministry to develop a road map to resolve their issue but nothing has been done as of today, “so we were in a dilemma”, he explained why the strike cannot be suspended any longer.

He further stated that the meeting which resulted in the decision was “very hectic”, which took into considerations “four years of painful” negotiations, meetings and arbitrations.

The strike would affect OPD, weekend and night services. Only emergency and in-patient services would be rendered for the time being.

“Enough is enough,” Mr. Stephen Corquaye said, adding they would have wished for a fruitful deliberation with the chief of staff but there was “no positive assurance” from the latter.

He noted that both in January and February, they wrote to the chief of staff’s office but did not receive any response on their letters.

He warned that after 10^th August if nothing positive is heard from the government, they will scale up the strike. Emergency, in-patient and provision of services to HIV/AIDS and TB patients would also be withdrawn.

According to Stephen Corquaye, their members have adversely been affected after their migration onto the new pay policy. Pharmacists found themselves “negative salary”, he explained.

Meanwhile, holders of National Health Insurance cards have been asked to seek health care at private facilities, but Executive Director of the Health Insurance Service Providers Association of Ghana, Frank Torblu, is raising concerns about how the Scheme has been treating it members.

For instance, providers in the Ashanti Region have been agitating over issues they have with the scheme over the capitation scheme, and wondered how they are now going to deal with the strike by pharmacists and doctors.

He however appealed to members in the region to consider that lives are at stake and help save the situation.

Meanwhile, over 190 nurses at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital have abandoned work to commence their sit-down protest over unpaid salaries. A management meeting today to resolve their issue did not produce any positive result.