The Medical Superintendent Group (MSG) of Ghana is entreating government to consider redefining its criteria in selecting frontline health workers at the various health facilities in the country.
The MSG is the umbrella body of all heads of government hospitals at the district and regional levels as well as those of Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and quasi-government facilities.
According to the group, the motivational package offered health workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic is limited in its coverage.
President of MSG, Dr. Joseph Tambil argues that there exist a larger number of health workers who are highly exposed to the virus in the discharge of their duties, and thus deserve to be considered for the motivational package.
“If you look at the numbers of staff that have been infected so far, not a single person, I stand to be corrected have been infected but people who are at the OPDs, Records, Accident Emergency Centers, Labs, on the wards and so on. These are places you don’t know who has what but you have to see everybody. And we think that is where the risk is highest” he justified.
He disclosed that the inequalities in terms of entitlement to the package has caused a lot of disaffection among staff.
“Many of our colleagues have to contend on a daily basis staff refusing to carry out covid-19 related tasks with the excuse that they are not ‘frontline’ workers. That particular aspect of the reward package for health workers we think ought to be looked at again. Our group is ready and on standby to help out with constructive ideas to deal with this issue” he noted.
Dr. Tambil emphasized that the situation, coupled with the rising infection rate of health workers, has further compounded the burden on staff.
He said; “the remaining staff have had to work extra hard to cover up their absent colleagues. We believe that such staff must be compensated for additional work”
Albeit, Dr. Tambil prayed that health workers secure the right protective gear whiles working on any medical condition.
“We want to use this opportunity to call on all of our staff to remain vigilant and observe all the preventive protocols to the letter. In the hospital setting we should treat all patients as infected until we are informed otherwise and we should do so without stigmatizing the infected.. But more importantly let’s all be champions of the COVID-19 fight within our communities” he charged.