Gov’t identifies alternative health facilities to cushion patients amid nurses’ strike – Kwakye Ofosu

Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu has revealed that alternative health facilities have been mapped out across the country to cushion patients as the nationwide strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) continues unresolved.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, June 10, the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese MP said these facilities, including both private and public institutions not affected by the strike, are being positioned to take in overflow cases and offer uninterrupted healthcare.

“The Health Minister has announced—and I believe it should have been published by now—a list of health facilities where patients can go if they encounter closed wards or absent nurses,” he said.

“Some are private, some public, but their employee structures are such that they are not part of the striking body.”

He assured Ghanaians that government would direct patients to these facilities so no one would be left without critical care.

“It is necessary to take these interim measures while we work urgently to resolve the situation,” he stressed.

The strike, declared by the GRNMA, follows a breakdown in negotiations with the Ministry of Health.

At the heart of the standoff is government’s request to postpone the implementation of a previously agreed conditions of service package until 2026. The nurses have flatly rejected the proposal.

Kwakye Ofosu insisted government is not taking the strike lightly.

“It is a very serious matter,” he said. “We are talking about lives. When Ghanaians walk into a health facility, they expect to see nurses and midwives ready to provide care. Their absence is deeply regrettable.”

He described the striking nurses as the “binding agents” of Ghana’s health system.

“A doctor once told me, a hospital can do without doctors but not without nurses,” he noted. “That’s how important they are.”

Kwakye Ofosu also responded to concerns about why government failed to budget for the implementation of the nurses’ conditions of service in the 2025 national budget, despite it being agreed under the previous administration.

“Yes, government is a continuum, but there’s a reason why governments change,” he explained.

“The Finance Ministry has assessed the conditions and determined that meeting them in full right now would cost over ¢2 billion annually—and even more by some estimates.”

He said such expenditure, without being planned for in the budget, could be economically destabilising.

“One of the major causes of Ghana’s past hardships was fiscal slippage—spending that wasn’t budgeted for. We simply can’t repeat that.”

When asked by host Evans Mensah if this meant the current government was reneging on a commitment, Kwakye Ofosu pushed back.

“There are things we met that we cannot continue, not out of spite but because we must govern responsibly. We cannot take unilateral decisions. That’s why we are still hopeful that the nurses will return to the negotiation table.”

He said the government was open to reaching a new agreement that satisfies both the demands of nurses and the realities of the national purse.

“We need a solution that works for both parties,” he said. “But until that happens, we must protect patients. That’s our duty.”

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