The Minority caucus in parliament has condemned the government for its failure to resolve the ongoing strike by the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers' Union (MELPWU), which began on June 17.

In an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Thursday, June 20, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Ranking Member on Parliament's Health Committee, urged the government to act swiftly to address the strike, emphasising its impact on public healthcare.

"The insensitivity and the irresponsibility of this government has become legendary. I think that when it comes to matters of health, the government must move with alacrity because it borders on lives," he stressed.

Read also: MELPWU strike leaves labs in public hospitals empty, patients directed to private facilities

The members of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers' Union commenced an industrial action on June 17, protesting the government's delay in addressing their conditions of service.

The strike has left patients at public health facilities stranded with some forced to seek more costly lab services at private facilities.

"Any reasonable government will engage them and plead with them while they are at the negotiation table, to go back to the hospitals or facilities"Akandoh noted.

He also highlighted the economic challenges faced by health workers, pushing them to seek better opportunities elsewhere.

He asserted that the constitution guarantees every citizen the right to healthcare and so government must respond to the needs of the lab workers.

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