Sekondi, June 21, GNA - The Effia Nkwanta Hospital is deserted with no sign of life, is dirty and is over grown with weeds. A visit to the hospital by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday showed that all major units of the hospital had been locked. This is as a result of a strike action announced by the Health Workers Group of the hospital on June 08.

The group is made up of the Association of Health Services Administrators, Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association, Health Accounting Staff Association of Ghana and Health Services Workers Union of Ghana. Others are the Ghana Registered Nurses Association of Ghana, Ghana Federation of Allied Health Professions, Ghana Medical Assistants Association and Ghana Association of Nurses Anaesthetists. The over 500 health workers who began their strike agreed to take care of patients on admission and to handle emergency and accident cases only. They have since then discharged all the sick and refused to return. The Out Patients Department, Children's Unit, laboratory, Ear Nose and Throat Unit, dental, Psychiatry, Male Surgical, Female Ward, Labour Ward, Maternal and Child Health Care units have all been closed.

The Blood Bank and the Voluntary Counselling and Testing Unit (VCT) were opened.

The wards looks dirty while the grass on the compound had overgrown and no official of the hospital was around to speak to the GNA. Mr Henry Obuoba-Ansa, a businessman, said the strike had affected the smooth implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). He said people who were initially sceptical about the NHIS could no longer access health care due to the strike of the health care providers. Mr Obuoba-Ansa appealed to striking health workers to resume work to save lives and reduce the people's dependence on self-medication. 21 June 06