The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has resolved to withdraw their out-patient department (OPD) and emergency services, beginning from Thursday, July 30 to Thursday, August 13, 2015, if government fails to meet the new deadline for finalising the association’s conditions of service.
The GMA has given government a month’s ultimatum to address the conditions of service for doctors, which, according to them, government has declined to improve upon despite several consultations.
This was contained in a communiqué signed by the President of GMA, Dr K. Opoku-Adusei, after an emergency extraordinary meeting on June 29 to review their earlier agreement.
The consensus was reached that if by the end of the new deadline of July 29, 2015, their condition of service document is not secured, all the affected doctors would consider themselves unemployed.
Dr Opoku-Adusei said the GMA would activate as part of the implementation strategy of its decision “total withdrawal of services, including in-patient care from August 14, 2015 culminating finally in the mass resignation of all members of the GMA working in the public health sector.”
Roadmap
The association has set a roadmap to be followed by its members nationwide if after 6:00 pm on July 29, 2015, negotiations have not been completed and the conditions of service document duly signed.
First is the withdrawal of OPD services from July 30 to August 6, 2015.
The second will be the withdrawal of both OPD and emergency services from August 7- 13, 2015, then followed by a total withdrawal of services, including in-patient care from August 14, 2015 culminating finally in the mass resignation of all members of the GMA working in the public health sector.
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