By Michael Kofi Kenetey.
Management of the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region and other stakeholders have embarked on a mass burial of Covid-19 bodies.
Deputy Administrator of the Hospital, Lawrence Opoku, told GBC News that the hospital undertook the exercise because the mortuary was near full and could not have waited for the Environmental Health Officers to end their strike.
He denied a statement by the Environmental Health Officers Alliance, Ghana, that the hospital’s action is illegal since they used untrained and unlicensed people to carry out the burial. Mr. Opoku said the people used were trained by the Health Directorate and provided with all Protective Equipment required for the burial.
”The Isolation Centre is overwhelmed with patients and the striking Environmental Health Officers are creating problems,” he stated.
The Kwahu West Municipal Director of Health Services, Celestina Asante, said the striking Environmental Health Officers cannot hold the health delivery system to ransom.
”Burial of the 10 COVID-19 bodies was a directive from the Regional Directorate, it is important that the Environmental Health Officers settle their differences with their employers,” he said.
