Ho, June 08, GNA - Members of the Volta Region branch of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) would meet on Thursday to discuss salary issues in view of a strike by junior doctors in Accra. Dr Kofi Gafatsi Normanyo, Medical Superintendent in charge of the Ho Municipal Hospital, said the meeting might decide in favour of a strike as "we are thoroughly annoyed", he said.

He said the meeting would take place even though the regional Chairman of the GMA was away in Accra over the same issue. Dr Normanyo said the doctors in the public sector have had to endure working with poor facilities, non-implementation of operational directives and the problem of personal survival. He said the pressures faced by health workers in general tended to affect relations among various categories of hospital workers and with patients.

Dr Normanyo said the government had failed to make good its obligations to the Ho Municipal Hospital regarding remittances on exemptions. He said the situation had led to the accumulation of over 700 million cedis as unpaid remittances in respect of such exemptions.

"I have instructed the staff to disregard such exemptions", he said, and that the hospital was indebted to the tune of over 537 million cedis.

Dr Normanyo said such institutional headaches were enough worry to frustrate any well meaning professional and this needed not to be compounded with issues of survival.

Dr Edwin Danoo, the Medical Superintendent of the Hohoe Government Hospital, said the hospital was operating normally while awaiting instructions from Ho and Accra.

Dr Andrews Ayim, who is in charge of the Ketu District Directorate of the GHS, said health facilities in the district were operating normally pending any future developments.

Meanwhile, management of the Ho Municipal Health Insurance Scheme has assured its clients that it was taking steps to ensure they received medical attention in case public sector health workers including doctors went on strike.

Mr Mawunyo Tsigbey, the Public Relations Officer of the Scheme, told the GNA that the scheme would meet the Municipal Directorate of the GHS to work out contingency arrangements should such a strike take place. He said a meeting would also be held with the management of the Miracle Life Clinic, the only private health facility under the scheme, to offer its services to its clients on some negotiated terms. 08 June 06