–By Daniel Bampoe
Hospitals across Ghana have been thrown into chaos as thousands of nurses and midwives continue a nationwide strike, abandoning their posts and leaving patients with no care and nowhere to turn.
What started as a labour standoff has rapidly escalated into a public health emergency, with vital health services at a standstill and the nation’s most vulnerable citizens bearing the brunt.
The strike, declared by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) on June 2, 2025, follows more than a year of tensions between the union and the government.
At the heart of the dispute is a Collective Agreement signed in May 2024, which promised improvements in wages, staffing, and working conditions.
The GRNMA claims the Ministries of Health and Finance have failed to implement the agreed terms, despite multiple reminders and negotiations.
Hospitals Deserted
On-the-ground reports from hospitals in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Wa, and Cape Coast paint a grim picture.
Outpatient Departments (OPDs), consulting rooms, emergency units, and even delivery wards are largely deserted.
Nurses and midwives, who make up the bulk of Ghana’s healthcare workforce, have withdrawn entirely from their duties, with only a handful of emergency staff remaining under intense pressure.
Hospitals are now only attending to emergency and critical cases, while even admitted patients are being managed by overstretched doctors and non-specialist staff.
In many cases, doctors are filling roles usually assigned to nurses, such as taking patient vitals and administering medication.
“We are overwhelmed,” said a doctor at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. “This strike has stripped the healthcare system of its support structure. We’re doing our best, but we can’t replace thousands of trained nurses overnight.”
Patients Abandoned
Scenes outside public hospitals show desperate patients—many elderly, some carrying children—waiting in vain for care that isn’t available.
Others have turned to private hospitals, which are now struggling to absorb the overflow.
But for many Ghanaians, private care is simply unaffordable.
The ripple effects are widespread: child immunization drives, maternal healthcare services, and community outreach programmes have all come to a halt.
In rural areas, where public healthcare is often the only option, entire communities have been effectively cut off from basic medical support.
Strike Rooted in Government Inaction
The GRNMA maintains that the strike is both legal and necessary.
In a statement, the union emphasized that it had exhausted all channels for dialogue before resorting to industrial action.
“Our members have been pushed to the wall,” said GRNMA President Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo.
“The government’s failure to honour a binding agreement, coupled with poor working conditions and low morale, has left us no choice. This action is in the best interest of patients in the long run.”
The union warns that unless the government immediately acts on the Collective Agreement, the strike could escalate further, potentially including a total withdrawal of emergency services.
Health policy analysts are sounding the alarm, warning that the longer the standoff continues, the greater the risk to public health.
The government, meanwhile, has yet to issue a definitive response or announce concrete steps toward resolving the impasse.
With patients suffering and hospitals in disarray, pressure is mounting on the Ministry of Health to act swiftly and decisively.
