Striking Staff of Providence Medical Center a private health facility at Suhum in the Eastern Region have resumed work.
The workers are expected to resume work today Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
The staff began indefinite strike action Monday, April 20, 2020, over eleven (11) months’ salary arrears.
However, swift intervention by management after a crucial meeting Monday with fresh assurance to the staff has impressed them to call off the strike action.
The aggrieved workers of the top private health facility in Suhum municipality accused the Director of the facility, Dr. Divine Apaloo for hiding behind indebtedness of the National Health Insurance Authority to the facility as an excuse for his inability to pay them.
The angry workers claimed, the NIA recently paid about four months of the arrears it’s owed the facility however, the Director paid one month of their salary arrears.
The agitating workers ranging from Administrative Staff, Physician Assistants, Nurses, Midwives to Cleaners say they struggling to survive hardship afflicted on them by nonpayment of salaries for about a year.
According to them, families are tearing apart as they are unable to take care of their wives and children. Others say, their Landlords are evicting them for nonpayment of rent.
“We are feeling the brunt of this nonpayment of salaries. 11 months now getting to a year. No workers from administrative staff to the last person on the list i.e. the cleaners. How do you expect us to survive? Take care of our families. Some of us are wives and girlfriends are leaving us, we can take care of the home. Just recently an orderly and a security man were ejected from their homes for nonpayment of rent.”
But during a meeting with the Staff on Monday, Dr. Divine Apaloo explained that NHIA only paid two months of the arrears hence management has judiciously use it to sustain the facility.
He assured them of paying the arrears as soon as the facility gets funds.
Private Health Providers in Ghana are on its knees over huge indebtedness by NHIS. In February this year, the Private Health Providers said, NHIS owes service providers between 9 (nine) to 14 (fourteen) months which covers arrears from 2018 for some providers and 2019 for others. It described the situation as “unacceptable because the health sector is regarded as an essential service and a key component for socio-economic.” The Private Health Service Providers have on several times threatened to withdraw services to the Scheme to revert to cash and carry system
Providence Medical Center is arguably one of the best private health facilities in Suhum Municipality and its environs.
The Hospital also has a branch at Abogri a community in the Eastern Regional Capital, Koforidua.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
