July 9, 2017
The fate of patients at the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital hangs in a balance as staff of the hospital have declared a sit-down strike starting from tomorrow, Monday, to protest the increasing encroachment of the hospital’s land by private developers.
The staff have also served notice that they will lay down tools and hit the streets if the government failed to address the situation by Wednesday.
According to Elvis Akuamoah, the head of staff at the hospital, the activities of the encroachers has compromised security at the facility, putting the lives of health workers and patients at risk.
Addressing journalists on the matter at the hospital, he said in spite of several complaints by the staff and efforts by the management of the hospital, the government has not taken steps to halt the menace.
“Despite the efforts of hospital management to have the issue addressed, we as staff do not see any results to curb the situation. All we see is rapid degradation of the land at the frontage of the hospital and development of permanent structures for residence and business purposes at the cost of security for both staff and patients of this institution.
“Staff of the hospital will start a sit down strike from Monday, July 10 and we’ll follow it with a halt of the operations of the hospital from Wednesday, July 12 and then hit the streets if no action is taken to address the situation, and continue to stay away from the hospital until we see a resolution to the problem,” he said.
Last March, the workers and some residents in the area jointly issued a two-week ultimatum to the government to intervene to halt the encroachment of the lands.
They appealed to the President to heed their pleas and order the encroachment of their lands to be stopped
“The lands have all been sold; even the churches have bought some. They have blocked all the pathways and have been making our lives miserable. We are not allowed to move freely anymore.
“We are pleading with the president, if these lands really belong to the state then government has to take it back,” they said.
By: Nii Adotey/adrdaily.com
