Hospitals cannot run efficiently without Lab Scientists – Ag. Medical Director to gov't

The Acting Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital Ridge, Dr. Emmanuel K. Srofenyoh has said the nationwide strike by the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) has greatly affected the functions of the hospital.

Lab technicians, Monday began a nationwide strike across all public health centres after embarking on a partial withdrawal of their services, last week.

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The Association, among other things are fighting for a review of their conditions of service as well as ensure their challenges are acknowledged by medical superintendents and directors. The action is in further protest of salary discrepancies which they say have existed for about six years, after the introduction of the single spine salary policy.

Dr. Emmanuel Srofenyoh posited that every ultra-modern hospital needs the services of a medical laboratory for a smooth operation hence called on the government to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“What is going on now has really affected the functions of the hospital…what we want to say [at] Ridge Hospital here is that this hospital cannot run efficiently if the lab does not function so we want to use this medium to appeal to government to sit down with the leadership of the biomedical scientists in order to address some of these issues so that work can resume.”

However, the Ag. Medical Director, in an interview with www.ghanaweb.com, downplayed assertions that his outfit relegates its Laboratory Scientists. According to him, they have a good rapport with their Lab Technicians and always give them a listening ear as well as provide their needs.

“We don’t have any problem over here. We have a very closely with the leadership of the lab and the are very cooperative and we also address their needs but remember that concern is a universal concern they have put across and does not have any specific bearings on the relationship that we have at Ridge with the leadership of the lab at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital,” he mentioned.

He added, “So that one does not directly concern us because we have a very good relationship and we invest tremendously into our lab. Our lab has one of the most modern equipment and if they needed something and we can afford we are able to provide it for them.”



Touching on the issue of blood transfusion services which will be the most affected, Dr. Srofenyoh indicated that pregnant women who lose blood in the process of childbirth as well as other patients in dire need of blood will suffer the repercussions most.

“Meaning that somebody who comes to the hospital with severe anaemia, pregnant women who may be bleeding and may need transfusion will be at the mercy of where we get the blood. And since it is a national strike it is not like we go to other hospitals and we get the blood and so that is a serious thing. It’s an illuming problem which we want government to avert for us,” he worryingly expressed.

A visit to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital Ridge showed patients waiting hours on end to be attended to by a health personnel. An agitated pensioner who spoke to www.ghanaweb.com disclosed that he had been at the hospital for close to four hours but kept getting feedback that he would be attended to shortly.



Meanwhile, the striking Lab Technicians maintain that the halt of their services will not anytime soon unless the government resolve what they describe as “great discrepancy”.