Mass exit of medical specialists at St. Anne’s Hospital to render facility a health center
Few months ago, the Saint Anne’s Hospital, formerly known as West Gonja Hospital was the pride of many in the health sector in the Savannah Region as the facility was host to 11 medical doctors with various specialties.
These include Gynaecologists and an Obstetrician. The rest are; Residency Doctors who were specialising in and outside Ghana and expected to return to the Hospital. Some are at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital specialising in family medicine, Korle-Bu as well as Germany.
The Hospital was a referral center and has attracted many clients from outside the region including Ahafo, Bono and the two Upper regions as well as Burkina Faso and Togo.
But unfortunately, same cannot be said today as all three resident specialists deserted the Hospital in the same Month.
JoyNews can also confirm that apart from one out of the four in school, only one of them will return to the facility.
Already, the only one who specialised as a consultant, has decided not to return. Also, two of those at post, are threatening to exit just as their senior colleagues did.
With this development, the Hospital can barely boast of a single specialist, hence the fears of it being reduced to a health center.
The specialists, Anthony Ayambire, an Obstetrician and a former Clinical Care Coordinator, Jonathan Wadeyir Abesig, Gynaecologist and Solomon Gandaa also a Gynaecologist are currently out of reach of the Hospital.
JoyNews‘ checks revealed that, Dr. Jonathan Wadeyir Abesig and Dr. Anthony Ayambire, who have been described as some of the finest in the system, are currently working at Bole and Buipe Hospitals respectively in the Savannah Region, whilst Dr. Solomon Gandaa who also left during the same period is with the SDA Hospital in Tamale in Northern Region.
More importantly, records from the Hospital indicated that, in the year 2017, it recorded zero maternal mortality with no single referral case in 33 months running.
Additionally, the Hospital this year, led by the former Director of the Hospital, Doctor Jonathan Wadeyir Abesig successfully delivered a young pregnant woman of quadruplets.
This situation, has left residents in Damongo worried. They say apart from patronising the facility, some of them live in the same homes and community with the doctors and nurses, thus know what the situation is like.
Abdulai Hilalu Haruna is one of them. He said, “Now, I don’t know what is going on there or happening in Damongo. If anything serious occurs in Damongo-Sawla in the night, can you just imagine that”, he queried.
Another man, Mahama Seidu Ewura whose wife has been visiting the Hospital, said, “My wife went there for 7 Months and later they asked her to go to Tamale and deliver. So, I asked why and a nurse told me the big, big Doctors all ran away. So, the nurse advised me to take my wife to Bole where she can deliver”, he indicated.
Background to the crisis: It will be recalled that in December last year, CEO of the Hospital removed the former Director of the facility and replaced him with the administrator, one Frank.
According to insiders, things were not well managed leading to the resignation of the only two senior specialists, Jonathan Wadeyir Abesig (former Director) and Dr. Anthony Ayambire (Clinical Care Coordinator).
Our sources also alleged that two officers, thus the Administrator and Accountant are part of problems at the Hospital as they have been accused of doing the bidding of the CEO, thereby fueling crisis of non-payment of one year arrears of medical officers’ stewardship and fuel allowances.
This has triggered another threat by some of the doctors to leave the Saint Anne’s Hospital for good.
Initially, when the two Gynaecologists tended in their resignations in protest of administrative lapses at the Hospital, they were recalled after some months. This was followed by a visit of some National Health Union Executives such as the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the National Catholic Health Service (NCHS) to help fix the challenges between Management and the doctors.
But after waiting without a solution to the issues raised, the two specialists tended in their request for release letters dated Tuesday, 3rd May, 2022 seeking to leave both the Saint Anne’s Hospital and CHAG and to be reposted to Ghana Health Service facilities in the Region.
But after two months of intensive lobbying for them to rescind their decisions failed, their request was granted and their relationship with the Hospital is now history.
Source: Ghana News
