General News of Friday, 13 April 2018
Source: citinewsroom.com
2018-04-13
Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director-General of Ghana Health Service
The Director-General of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, says he is not privy to plans by some physician assistants in the Eastern Region to boycott all medical facilities over the detention of their colleague.
The physician assistants have vowed to embark on a strike today [Friday], over what they termed as the wrongful detention of their colleague, Simon Takramah, who was arrested together with another Disease Control Officer, James Yeboah, following the death of three persons at the New Senchi Health Centre.
The Ghana Health Service identified Mr. Yeboah as the one who administered the contaminated injections to the three patients, leading to their death. It later indicated that Mr. Yeboah had not been authorized to offer such a service as a retired health worker. It accused the District Health Directorate of deliberately trying to incriminate the Physician Assistant and exonerate Mr. Yeboah because they were benefiting financially from the illegal activities of the illegal disease control officer.
“It is worth bringing it again to the attention of the general public that the Disease Control Officer, Mr. James Yeboah who gave the injection Benzathine Penicillin resulting in the deaths, had been practicing illegally at the New Senchi Health Center for the past six (6) years after retirement in the full glare of the District Health Directorate before the Physician Assistant was posted to the facility on 17th November, 2017. All this while, the Eastern Regional Health Directorate and the Asuogyaman District Health Directorate had turned a blind eye to the illegal activities of the Disease Control Officer because they are in bed with him as the said officer had been giving monies monthly directly to the Asuogyaman District District Health Directorate.”
Though the physician assistants have served notice of their intentions to embark on a strike over the development, Dr. Nsiah-Asare on Eyewitness News said he had not received any letter indicating same.
“I am not aware. They have not given me any letter, you have just mentioned it to me,” he told Eyewitness News Host, Umaru Sanda Amadu.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare was however quick to add that he was willing to engage with the physician assistants over their intended strike.
” I am going to engage them because what is happening is not in the hands of the Ghana Health Service and for that matter the Ministry of Health. It is now a legal issue, and I cannot go into prison custody and ask for his release, but I will rather engage with the leadership of Physician Assistants, and I hope we will come out with something fruitful.”
Dr. Nsiah-Asare further indicated that the Ghana Health Service was still in the process of investigating the issue and will soon “release its findings” after investigations.