Health Ministry Given 30 Day Ultimatum To Pay One-Year Allowance Of 322 Pharmacists Or Go To Court

• Three hundred and twenty-two (322) pharmacists have written to the health ministry demanding their one-year allowances be paid
• The pharmacists say all attempts to get the health ministry to pay them their allowances have proven futile
• They have threatened to drag the health ministry to court if their allowances are not paid in 30 days

Three hundred and twenty-two (322) pharmacists have written to the Ministry of Health demanding the immediate payment of their one-year allowances.

According to the pharmacists, if the Ministry of Health fails to pay their accumulated allowances in the next 30 days, they will have no choice but to initiate legal action.

The demand was contained in a letter to the Health Ministry dated August 21, 2024, issued by the doctors' lawyers.

The lawyers stated that their clients were engaged by the Pharma Council acting for and on behalf of the Health Ministry from July 2023 to July 2024.

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However, contrary to settled practice, their clients were not paid any allowances throughout the period.

“Please take note that unless we hear favourably from you in any event at a date not less than 30 days from the date of receipt of this letter, we have our clients’ instructions to commence legal action against you,” the lawyers stated.

Pharmacists do not have contract

The woes of the pharmacists began right from their enrollment into their mandatory housemanship.

According to the doctors, after waiting months to be enrolled into their housemanship following the completion of their doctorate course, there was no official clearance for them.

In an interview with TV3, one of the doctors revealed that they had yet to receive any official acknowledgement or contract from the health minister.

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The doctors say their unique predicament has created several bureaucratic hurdles blocking their allowances.

They complained that the non-payment of their allowances has a huge toll on many of them.

Some doctors had to leave their places of residence to other urban centres for their housemanship; thus, without the allowance are unable to fend for themselves.

They said attempts to get the Health and Finance Ministries to act have proven futile, hence their resort to legal action.

Minister fumes as doctors declare strike

YEN.com.gh reported that following a threat from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital’s staff to embark on a strike, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simone Osei-Mensah, expressed his displeasure with the decision.

The health workers were embarking on the strike to protest their poor working conditions and acute accommodation challenges.

However, concerning their accommodation challenges, the minister said the only way for the health workers to get better was to vacate their current bungalows.

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According to him, plans are underway to construct new blocks for the health workers to contain more of them than the existing ones.

Source: YEN.com.gh