<<Print>>

Public sector doctors have rubbished government's intent to bond them in the future as a means to prevent them from embarking on future strike actions to demand better conditions of service. The acting Minister of Health Haruna Iddrisu over the weekend disclosed the government is seriously looking into a bondage system where public sector doctors, in particular, will sign an undertaken never to use strike action to air their grievances. "In the future, no medical doctor should be employed or recruited on the public pay roll or for public service without an undertaken that such a doctor will never embark on a strike action,� the minister told the media. However, the vice president of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Kwame Adusei Poku, feels such policy will be a wild goose chase. �People must sit down with us and put into place reasonable measures that will get us back to work,� Dr Adusei Poku told Citi Breakfast Show on Monday. �Not all these wrangling and signing of bonds. So if all doctors sign bonds and decide not to go to work how will you deal with all doctors? � The GMA boss suggested that the right way to go is for the government to set up a committee to look into their problems rather than engage in legalities. �People must put into place pragmatic measures to get the doctors back to work� in any case we gave government enough notice more than six months ago that things were not going well [before going on strike], where were the proponents of legal issues. �We gave another warning on the 15th of September and nobody heeded to the fact that we are essential service. We gave another notice on the 24th of September nobody thought we were essential service,� he told the host of the show Bernard Avle. �Government must be realistic, sit down with us and talk about issues. Bond will not work. � Dr Adusei Poku said the doctors are not flouting any law of the state when it comes to treating patients in their private hospitals while the strike action intensifies. He said that rather serves the interest of the nation since it offloads the burden on public health centres. �So far as I am aware there is no law that forbids patients where they should seek healthcare. There is no law that says that a doctor can�t treat anybody in a private hospital. �Meanwhile, before the strike, were we not working as we used to work? If Ghanaians are attending private hospitals that is good for everybody. Then the after effect of the strike will be minised; there will be less discomfort and maybe less deaths,� he said.