Wards and washrooms at the Northern Regional Hospital in Tamale have descended into squalor after casual staff withdrew their services over five months of unpaid salaries, now entering a fourth day with no resolution in sight.
The sit-down strike has begun to take a visible toll on sanitation across the facility, with overflowing bins and a strong stench emanating from the children’s ward, male ward, maternity ward, and other sections of the hospital.
Speaking to Channel One News on Monday, March 23, the secretary of the orderlies, Adam Sulemana Baba, said the workers would not return to duty until their outstanding salaries are paid. “We are here for almost about 15 years as casual workers. We have worked for almost five months without salary, and due to that, that is why we went on this strike,” he said.
The Northern Regional Hospital, also known as Tamale Central Hospital, serves as a key referral facility for patients across the Northern Region. The deteriorating hygiene conditions now raise urgent concerns about infection risks for patients, many of whom are already in vulnerable health.
The strike adds to a pattern of recurring labour unrest at the facility rooted in deeper financial pressures. The hospital has been grappling with a debt of 3,360,046.74 cedis arising from an overpayment by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) following an audit that found duplicate claims from 15,876 submissions in March 2018.
Hospital management and government health officials had not issued a public response to the current strike action as of Monday evening.
