File photo of some nurses protesting

Correspondence from Bono Region

The nationwide strike declared by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) is yet to see full compliance in the Bono and Bono East regions, as the industrial action entered its second day on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

Though many feared that healthcare delivery would be severely disrupted due to the strike action, the impact of the strike is yet to be fully felt because many nurses in various facilities have not fully complied with the directive as they continue to report for duty, especially in the outpatient departments and emergency units, helping to maintain a degree of normalcy in patient care.

A visit to some health facilities showed some nurses engaged in their duties at the Outpatient Departments (OPDs), attending to patients, taking vital signs, and facilitating consultations, helping maintain normalcy in patient care.

For instance, at the Abrafi Mother and Child Hospital in Techiman, Kintampo Municipal Hospital, and the Atebubu Municipal Hospital, all in the Bono East, many nurses reported for duty and discharged their duties on Thursday, June 5, 2025, in sharp contrast to the strike directive.

Some of the nurses who spoke on condition of strict anonymity cited wrong timing of the strike, political undertone, high patient volumes, moral obligation, and medical emergencies for their decision not to join the strike.

“I agree there are pressing issues facing the nursing fraternity that need to be addressed, but I think that the timing is wrong, considering that the current government is just six months in office and should be given enough time to engage our leadership,” one nurse stated.

The situation was not different at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital in the Bono Region, where nurses were also busily going about their duties at the OPD and other units in defiance of the strike action.

However, at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital, the picture was different, as nurses had complied with the directive, as the Public Health Unit, Eye Clinic, and Outpatient Department all were without nurses.

Alleged coercion of members

Despite the compliance setback in some health facilities, the leadership of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) in the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions insists its members have adhered to the directive to stay away from work as part of the ongoing nationwide strike.

“We have observed from the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions that our members have fully complied with the road map and have stayed away from work as directed by leadership”, Kingsley Osei-Sarfo, chairperson of the GRNMA for Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo, disclosed.

Kingsley Osei-Sarfo insisted that gaps in compliance are not due to a lack of commitment from members but rather the result of interference and pressure from some health facility administrators an action he described as deeply unfortunate and counterproductive, noting that they undermine the spirit of peaceful protest and violate the rights of workers to engage in lawful industrial action.

Call on members to be resolute

Meanwhile, the leadership of the GRNMA in the three regions has urged its members to be resolute and support the ongoing strike fully, emphasising that the industrial action is rooted in critical issues that directly affect the welfare and professional well-being of nurses and midwives across the country.