Adabraka Polyclinic Deserted As GRNMA Strike Disrupts Patient Care

• Adabraka Polyclinic in Accra was nearly deserted as patients turned to private hospitals amid the ongoing nationwide nurses and midwives strike
• A pregnant woman from Teshie in severe pain, was left stranded at the clinic for nearly 20 minutes before finally receiving attention from a doctor
• The GRNMA strike, the fourth in six years, has disrupted healthcare across Ghana as government and union leaders fail to reach a resolution

The Adabraka Polyclinic in Accra appeared deserted on Monday, 10 June 2025, as the strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) forced patients to seek help in private hospitals.

A video shared online on Monday morning showed the usually busy outpatient department (OPD) at the Adabraka Polyclinic eerily quiet. Chairs were empty, corridors hollow, and the reception unattended.

This comes amid a nationwide industrial action by GRNMA members protesting delays in the implementation of their 2024 collective agreement, poor working conditions, and inadequate healthcare benefits.

The strike, which began on 4 June, has seen nurses and midwives withdraw from OPD and emergency services.

According to union leaders, all hospital services, including wards and theatres, will be withdrawn completely from 9 June if their demands are not met.

Zilla’s painful experience at deserted Adabraka Polyclinic

Among those affected by the strike was Zilla Okine, a 38-year-old woman who is nine months pregnant.

She explained journeying from Teshie to Adabraka polyclinic seeking urgent help for intense stomach pain, unaware of the ongoing strike.

Upon arrival, she found a nearly empty facility. The nurses who would have normally attended to her were absent.

“Tears welled up in her eyes,” a witness recounted, “as the pain grew worse and no one came forward to help.”

Eventually, a Good Samaritan spoke to one of the few staff members still on duty, and Zilla was allowed into the maternity ward. Even then, she waited quietly for nearly 20 minutes before a doctor finally saw her.

“They’ve checked me, but I’m waiting to see the doctor,” she said after being attended to briefly. “I feel better now than before.”

Zilla's story isn't the only account of the inconvenience Ghanaians are subjected to whenever health practitioners decide to put down their tools.

Across the country, similar scenes are unfolding as patients face empty waiting rooms and a shortage of health personnel.

YEN.com.gh reports that the GRNMA strike is the fourth major one in less than six years, with similar actions recorded in 2018, 2020, and 2022.

Salary arrears, unfulfilled government promises, and worsening workplace conditions have triggered each one.

A union representative lamented:

“When ministers fall ill, the government pays. But when a nurse is sick, she must pay out of pocket. That’s not fair.”

The Ministry of Health has issued emergency directives aimed at minimising the disruption. A high-level meeting is still underway between union representatives and government negotiators, but no resolution has been reached yet.

The ministry says it is monitoring the situation and deploying temporary support, but patients like Zilla are already bearing the consequences of the delay.

Doctor asks government to end nurses strike

YEN.com.gh had earlier reported that Dr Simone Frimpong Osei, the administrative director of Sawmill Hospital in Kwesimintsim, urged the government to resolve the GRNMA strike through dialogue.

He warned that legal action could worsen the situation and called for immediate talks to ease the strain on hospitals.

Dr Osei noted that doctors are overwhelmed, now performing tasks usually handled by nurses, including reception duties and taking vitals.

He said some facilities are relying on untrained support staff like nutritionists and warned that continued pressure could lead to medical errors.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh