Gyasikrom (A/R), June 23, GNA – Health workers at Gyasikrom Health Centre in the Bekwai Municipality have been withdrawn following an assault on a Physician Assistant (PA).
The Physician Assistant allegedly failed to attend to a patient who was rushed to the facility for medical attention.
As a result, the facility has remained shut since June 14 when the incident occurred, leaving residents stranded in access to healthcare.
Information gathered by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) when it visited the farming community, indicated that the PA was assaulted by some people who rushed a child to the facility because he was delaying in attending to the patient.
They also attacked a security man on duty and damaged some items at the facility as part of their protest.
So far, one person was arrested and remanded into Police custody to assist in investigations.
Residents, especially women, who are enduring the brunt of the closure, had called for the government’s intervention to reopen the facility as soon as possible.
“The closure of the Health Centre is affecting us because some of us have no money to attend hospital at Bekwai,” a heavily pregnant woman told the GNA.
A nursing mother, who was concerned about the likelihood of missing the next Child welfare Clinic early next month, appealed to the health authorities to open the facility in the interest of women and children in the community.
Mr Clement Nti Boateng, the Municipal Director of Health Services, in an interview, condemned the attack on the workers, who were only performing their duties as health workers.
He said the people had the responsibility to protect both the facility and the workers as members of the community instead of attacking them because the services being rendered by the workers were in their interest.
He said the Health Directorate was engaging the relevant stakeholders to discuss measures to prevent recurrence when work resumes.
To this end, the Directorate met traditional leaders of the community on Tuesday after which another meeting with the community has been scheduled for Thursday, June 24.
GNA