WORKERS OF BAWKU PRESBY HOSPITAL VACATE POST (Page 21)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bawku

FEAR and anxiety seem to have gripped workers of the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital and many of them who travelled outside the area for the Christmas and New Year holidays are not willing to return because they feel unsafe.
Speaking at the inauguration of a 17-member Area Health Board in Bolgatanga, the acting General Manager of the Northern Presbytery Health Services, Mr John Abugri, said the recurrent conflict in the area had derailed efforts at making the hospital a centre of excellence in northern Ghana.
During the last conflict in December 2007, a bungalow occupied by the only resident general medical doctor, Dr Francis Asana, was burnt down, which compelled the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to post the doctor to the regional capital in Bolgatanga.
Mr Abugri said the unfortunate development had exacerbated the situation of acute shortage of doctors at the hospital.
He noted with concern that the houses and property of other members of staff, were razed during the conflict and that that was why some of them requested transfer to places.
On December 31, 2007, ethnic conflict broke out between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis in the Bawku municipality.
The fighting escalated the following day leading to the death of at least eight people, while property worth millions of cedis was destroyed.
Currently, a curfew has been imposed on the Bawku municipality while security personnel have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order. 
Mr Abugri called on the government as well as the Presbyterian Church to hold discussions with opinion leaders from both sides on the need to protect the hospital and its staff as well as property during crises of that nature.
“Hospitals are internationally recognised as ‘peace zones’ and the people of Bawku need to be well informed about that,” he stressed, adding that if the situation at Bawku did not change for the better, the future of the once popular hospital would be bleak.
Mr Abugri called for the reconstruction of the hospital’s wall to provide proper security to the hospital and its bungalows as well as the low cost houses behind the hospital.
He suggested that in view of the vacuum created, efforts should be made to get one or two medical officers for the hospital while steps were taken to support the members of staff whose houses and other property were burnt, to motivate them to stay.
While appealing to the acting General Manager of the Presbyterian Church to consider the option of going back to recruit ‘fraternal workers’, especially doctors in order to ameliorate the inadequate doctor situation, Mr Abugri also stressed the need to develop some of the health centres instead of focusing so much on the hospital.
He commended the government, the Presbyterian Church and donor partners for their financial and logistical support provided the hospital over the years, which had made it possible for the hospital to serve many Ghanaians and people from neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso, Togo, Mali and Niger.
He emphasised that despite the numerous challenges, the management of the hospital was working hard to offer quality and affordable healthcare to the people.
The acting Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Hornametor Afeke, told the Daily Graphic that activities at the hospital were gradually picking up, and expressed the hope that calm would soon be restored for the resumption of normal activity.
He mentioned that three Cuban doctors and one Ghanaian, as well as a few members of staff were on hand to offer the needed assistance.
The acting medical director said the eye clinic of the hospital had resumed surgical operations.