Doctors at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) have indefinitely withdrawn emergency and outpatient services following what they describe as “unwarranted attacks” by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and Tamale North MP, Alhassan Suhuyini.
The decision was taken at an emergency general assembly meeting of the Doctors’ Association of Tamale Teaching Hospital (DATTH) held on Wednesday, April 23, just hours after their initial statement condemning the events during the minister’s visit to the facility’s Accident and Emergency unit on Tuesday, April 22.
“All members of DATTH have proceeded on an indefinite suspension of all emergency and outpatient services (General OPD, Antenatal clinic, Specialist clinic, Paediatrics OPD),” the Association announced.
However, inpatient care will continue for clients already admitted until they are safely discharged.
The doctors are demanding unqualified apologies from both the Health Minister and the Tamale North legislator to Dr. Valentine Akwulpwa, the entire medical staff of TTH, and specifically the staff at the Accident and Emergency department.
“We shall resume provision of emergency and outpatient services after we receive appropriate apologies,” DATTH stated.
In addition to the apology, the doctors issued a comprehensive list of urgent logistical and infrastructural demands to TTH management to facilitate effective health service delivery. These include a constant flow of water, stable electricity supply, uninterrupted oxygen delivery, and the immediate provision of essential clinical consumables such as gloves, gauze, cotton, face masks, syringes, cannulae, disinfectants, and plaster. They also called for a steady supply of reagents for lab tests, vital signs monitors, ventilators for various departments, transport incubators, and repairs to key hospital equipment including autoclave machines.
For the medium term, the doctors are demanding the installation of diagnostic and critical care equipment such as an MRI machine that does not use helium, a CT scan machine with an infusion pump, a mammography machine, a fluoroscopy unit, a C-arm machine, arterial blood gas (ABG) machines, and mobile X-ray devices.
DATTH further warned that its members will immediately withdraw from any environment they deem hostile during service provision, citing safety concerns. The Association also took aim at media houses that, in their view, published false and biased reports about the incident involving the Health Minister, stating that they would not engage such outlets until public apologies are issued.
The doctors insist they will continue to engage hospital management but say they will “advise themselves” if there is a failure to act on their demands within the shortest possible time.
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