The Ghana Medical Association, GMA has threatened to withdraw their services over their conditions of service document which has expired almost a year now.
According to the association, they have for the past months been dialoguing with the government but they are not able to arrive at an amicable solution.
Speaking to Prime News, Deputy General Secretary of the association, Dr Titus Beyuo said they have come to the point where withdrawing their services is necessary to force the government to address their concerns.
"We have a condition of service document that has expired for over a year now and we have been negotiating with government and we are not making progress, we have been negotiating with government all this while but at the tail meat as it is now we do not have any scheduled meeting for any other day again because both of us cannot agree. The document expired in December last year it's been eleven-month since it has expired so it should tell you that we did not just come to this conclusion...."
The GMA in a communiqué following their 61st annual general conference in Tamale issued a week's ultimatum to the government to sign the agreed Conditions of Service Document for Medical Doctors/Dentists working with the Ministry of Health and its agencies or risk having them withdraw their services gradually.
“A one-week window is hereby offered Government (MoH) that is, if by 1800 hours GMT on 17th November, 2019, the Conditions of Service Document for Medical Doctors/Dentists working with the Ministry of Health and its agencies has not been signed off for implementation effective 1st January 2020, the following set of activities shall kick start:
a. Effective Monday, 18th November 2019, all Medical Doctors/Dentists working in the public sector shall withdraw Outpatient Department (OPD) Services. This would continue till Sunday, 1st December 2019.
b. From Monday 2nd December, 2019, to Sunday 8th December 2019 emergency services shall be withdrawn.
c. From Monday, 9th December 2019, all services shall be totally withdrawn.â€
READ ALSO : Drones are not the solution to our problems - Ghana Medical Association
Ghanaians to pay more for some medical services
Ghanaians from September this year begun paying more for some medical services in the various hospitals across the country.
According to a letter from the Ghana Medical Association, GMA to all its members, ancillary medical services like a general medical report for school, travel, employment, mortgage and police report among others will now be paid for by the client.
The charges are to be paid directly to the individual doctor aside from any other administrative charges paid to the medical facility.
Explaining further the decision, General Secretary for GMA, Dr. Justice Yankson said any other service which is out of the traditional mandate of the medical officials will now be paid for.
"....autopsy report is a regular service for the facility that the person works for, so no fees for that particular service however if this man has to go and exhume a body for the Judicial Service through the court, that they want a pathologist to perform medical examination and come out with a report that is not the man's traditional job it is the one for which you have contracted..."