Nurses at the We government hospital on Tuesday joined their colleagues in the strike action to press home their demand for extra duty allowance. Only six senior nursing officers and four ward assistants are taking care of patients at the hospital and they are working round the clock to save lives. Most of the patients on admission have been asked to go home, ostensibly to reduce the burden on the skeleton staff on duty. Some of the patients talked to, claim they are still not well but have been asked to go home. Admissions have been limited to two children at the children’s ward, three men at the male medical ward, and a female at the casualty ward. Mrs Mary Bapuurah, principal nursing officer in charge of the hospital, said four ward assistants would be on night duty while the senior nurses take care of patients during the day. Mr Lawrence Walter, Upper West Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association appealed to Ghanaians not to blame nurses for the strike action. “The action is necessary because the government has been insensitive to the plight of nurses”.
