The nationwide strike by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) is taking a heavy toll on the delivery of healthcare services, with many lives being lost due to patients being stranded.

The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) has bemoaned the evident rise in mortality cases amid the ongoing strike by nurses and midwives in the country.

Speaking during an interview yesterday, June 10, the General Secretary of MOWAG, Richard Kofi Jordan, noted that the death rate has increased by approximately 100% to 150% due to nurses not being at post.

“Looking at the [number] of deaths compared to the past and now, the death toll has increased significantly, and it is not surprising because of the impact of the nurse’s absence. On average, where we are to record about 10 a day, we are recording about 20 to 25. This tells you that the absence of our nurses is becoming so severe,” he said.

Making reference to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, he mentioned that “we know averagely in Korle Bu, you can have about 50 this time. It has risen above that. Other facilities (like) KATH and all that, we are hearing it.”

According to him, the nurses who are no longer at post were mitigating the daily death rate across medical facilities in Accra.

In a viral video circulating on X (Twitter) yesterday, a young woman shared how she lost her 30-year-old uncle at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital when he was rushed in after a severe asthma attack.

She noted that the nurses declined to attend to the dying patient even after his wife offered to pay for every service.

Also, Mr Agyarkor, the father of 18-year-old Christian Felix Kesse, confirmed the death of his son after he was denied emergency care in three hospitals.

Felix was rushed to the Kpone Government Hospital, but upon arrival, his father was advised to seek care at a private facility. Due to the severity of his condition, they were directed to the same government hospital.

Mr Agyarkor noted that they headed to the Tema General Hospital, only to receive the same response. “We were told they were not working too. That’s when we made our way to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital,” Mr Agyarkor said, adding that “we did everything we could. But everywhere we turned, we were told the nurses were not working.”

Members of GRNMA on June 2 withdrew from their posts over delays in their 2024 Collective Agreement. Attempts by the government to come to a resolution to make the nurses resume services ended in a deadlock on Monday, where the government asked for an extension to effect the nurses' new working conditions until 2026, a proposal that was strongly objected to by the GRNMA.

Meanwhile, the GRNMA insists that the government’s attempt to defer their agreed conditions of service is unacceptable. Following the emergency meeting with the Health Ministry, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) disclosed that the government has made no provisions for its members in the 2025 budget.

This information was made known by the GRNMA Vice President Samuel Alagkora Akologo. Earlier yesterday, the Health Minister Mintah Akandoh, in a media engagement, revealed that the government will not be able to meet the conditions of service for the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), currently on strike, this year.

He said that the conditions of service being requested to be implemented were not captured in the 2025 budget statement; hence, it will "completely throw the economy off gear if implemented in the manner it currently exists."

Mintah Akandoh, however, assured of the government's readiness to further engage with the GRNMA to implement the conditions of service in a manner that does not dislocate the national budget."Government commits to continue to engage with the nurses to achieve a mutually acceptable outcome in the interest of the public," he said.