Healthcare services in some rural hospitals are gradually grinding to a halt following the nationwide strike by Physician Assistants.

Nurses in these facilities have been left with the difficult option of referring most cases because there are no physician assistants to attend to them. 

The assistants have refused to work, and they insist that changes should be be made to the health professionals' bodies’ Act 857, to grant them the freedom to operate independently.

Nurses and patients in some of these rural hospitals in the Ashanti Region have complained that the absence of the physician assistants is creating a huge void. They shared their plight with Luv FM’s Nana Boakye Yiadom who toured some of the facilities.

 “What we’re doing currently is to refer patients who visit the facility to nearby hospitals to seek medical attention because once we’re nurses we can’t do anything without the physician assistants.”

“Over 100 referrals so far, and it’s even more than that because since last week, a lot of patients have visited this health centre and we cannot do anything but refer them,” one nurse said.

“I’m one of the many villagers who come here for healthcare, other people also come from other places. I urge the government to respond seriously to the demands of these PAs otherwise many patients especially the poor ones will be at risk,” a patient said.

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has called on the disputing parties for a meeting, but the leader of the group, Anthony Asare Arkoh, says until they receive a favourable response from the Health Ministry, they will not back down.

“We’re looking at government’s posture at the meeting, if the government comes in and speaks well before the Commission then we will withdraw the strike.”

“When I say speak well, I mean the things that we’re requesting. This is a Commission, the case can linger for about one or two years, they could be adjourning.”

“Sometimes they might come in and disregard our petitions, but if they’re about to certainly tell us their plan to meet our demands then we will call it off,” he said.

The National Labour Commission on the other hand is expecting cool heads to prevail at their first meeting on Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

NLC's Executive Secretary, Ofosu Asamoah says both parties should be ready to reach a compromise to find a swift solution to their demands.

“As a Commission, we act with dispatch and what we will do is that we will not delay in finding a solution to it, but the parties must also be cooperative.”

“If you’re going to a negotiation table and you say if I don’t get this then that’s the end of the matter; then certainly resolving it might not be easy.”

“It’s one of the negotiations that you do give and take, you make concessions. So, I think they have to be open-minded, negotiate in good faith and be ready to make some sacrifices rather than taking an entrenched position before going to the table,” he said.