Physician assistants and nurses are now handling the referral and minor emergency cases at the Volta Regional Hospital, as doctors as part of their strike action, withdraw emergency services.

“In dire emergencies, we call our doctors to come and help because we don’t want our patients to die,” Dr George Acquaye, Medical Superintendent at the Hospital told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Tuesday.

At the emergency ward, GNA saw some physician assistants and nurses treating patients assisted by some doctors.

Dr Acquaye said the regional hospital found itself in a very peculiar situation as a referral facility which must institute measures to prevent patients from dying.

The hospital’s Out Patients Department (OPD) was virtually empty at around 1015 hours. At the Ho Municipal Hospital, a nurse who did not want to be identified said nurses on duty were doing their best in attending to the patients and referring very serious ones to the regional hospital.