Cardio Doctors On Strike...Petition Prez Mills

Doctors at the National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCTC) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have petitioned President Mills over the sudden termination of appointment of Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng as Honorary Director of the NCTC asking that the decision to do away with his services be repealed immediately. They have also resolved not to treat new patients until �further notice� and have placed a notice to that effect at the centre. To them, Prof. Frimpong Boateng�s dismissal is objectionable and detrimental to the future of healthcare and heart surgery in Ghana. Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng was summarily relieved of his post as per a letter signed by the sector minister, Joseph Yieleh Chireh on Thursday and copied to the President, Prof J.E.A. Mills, the Chief of Staff, John Henry Martey Newman and the Deputy Minister of Health, Rojo Mettle Nunoo. His dismissal took immediate effect. But in a five page petition signed by some seventeen Doctors and Medical Staff of the Cardio Unit, addressed to President Mills and copied to the Chief of Staff and Heads of other state-owned Health institutions, they described the contents of the �Hon Minister�s letter a disincentive to patriotism considering the enormous sacrifice and contribution of Prof Frimpong-Boateng not only to healthcare in general but cardiothoracic surgery in particular both in Ghana and in the sub-region.� �Your Excellency, your attention must be drawn to the fact that the 16 nations in the West African sub region, heart surgery is practiced in only 4 nations. Ghana�s National Cardiothoracic is the best equipped and most functional on account of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng�s exemplary leadership. The next generation of leaders is being groomed by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng to take up his role both in the care of patients and also in the administrative leadership of the Center, a task for which he has demonstrated world-class competence. To terminate Prof. Frimpong-Boateng�s role as a director of the National Cardiothoracic Center will jeopardize this crucial process in no way with untoward national repercussions,� the petition said. Prof. Frimpong-Boateng�s appointment was terminated on Thursday, August 25 after several years of working as the Director of the Center, without detail explanation for his dismissal. Read full petition below.