The Junior Doctors Association has refuted reports that one of its members at the Manhyia Hospital, in Kumasi allegedly gave the wrong prescription to a patient.

This follows a misunderstanding that ensued between a Junior Doctor and a Nurse at the Manhyia District Hospital.

The associations described the reports as “untrue.”

The doctors say there is no such information or record available from the hospital showing that the doctor gave the wrong prescription.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, 29 November 2022, the Junior doctors said: “While we do not condone the actions of the father, it is imperative to set the record straight on the falsehood being peddled to bring the professional competence of the doctor into disrepute.”

According to the Junior Doctors Association, “the doctor did not review any child on the surgical ward on the day in question, no prescription was written for a child by the doctor on the said date and, therefore, she could not have prescribed the wrong dosage.”

It association indicated that: “The doctor correctly prescribed an Intravenous fluid for an adult patient on the surgical ward, the non-availability of the Intravenous fluid prescribed prompted the nurse to call the doctor to delete it from the system to avoid extra billing.”

Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Scheme Mr Alex Opoku-Mensah has apologised for barging into the Manhyia District Hospital to attack the nurse with whom his daughter, a doctor doing her housemanship, had a misunderstanding.

The apology comes after the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) called for his dismissal within 72 hours or they strike for disrespecting their member and nurses in general.  

In a Facebook post, the embattled Mr Opoku-Mensah said “I understand the disappointment and appreciate the inconvenience my action has caused the general public as well as the Nursing FRATERNITY and Manhyia Hospital.

“This has never been my style but for a genuine reason to mediate a persistent issue between my daughter(Doctor) and a colleague nurse who I as well consider my daughter.

“I do apologise for any mishap and assure all, there shall not be a repetition of such.

“I look forward to maintaining a cordial relationship between any affected person.”

Mr Opoku-Mensah was heard in a viral audio dishing out insults specifically at the nurse in question and also at nurses in general.

He went to the hospital to fight the nurse on behalf of his daughter after the nurse had questioned the house officer on an issue.

The nurse is believed to have used her own phone to call Mr Mensah’s daughter to come to the hospital and log into the E-Health System and update a patient’s prescription order so that the patient is not billed for unissued drugs.

It is not clear how the nurse communicated with Mr Mensah’s daughter on the phone which made her feel disrespected.

Mr Mensah then followed his daughter to the hospital and was captured on tape insulting the nurse and threatening to mastermind her removal from the hospital.

He went on further to say his daughter is more intelligent than the said nurse and further threatened to come to the hospital in his daughter’s defence anytime she is intimidated by anyone in the facility.  

The GRNMA, in a statement, said they want Mr Mensah sacked in the next 72 hours or they will call on the nurses and midwives of the Manhyia District Hospital to lay down their tools, followed by the whole region and then escalate it to the national level.

The statement said Mr Mensah had no right to enter the hospital to abuse a nurse.

The group said as a Regional Director of the NSS, he should have known that the Manhyia District Hospital has management with whom he could have lodged a complaint instead of barging into the facility to attack the nurse.