Gov’t condemns health workers at JFK

The Government of Liberia has frowned at health care workers at the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Sinkor, Monrovia for not being professionally active, which led to the death of the daughter of Montserrado County district #16 Representative, Edward Forh, over the weekend.

The government reminded that health care workers’ primary duty is to save lives, but they are now using fear of Ebola as an excuse to reject patients in critical conditions, leading to deaths.

Speaking Tuesday, September 30th at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs, Isaac Jackson, cautioned health workers not to use fear of the Ebola virus as an excuse to abandon patients, stressing that health care workers have been trained provided all necessary Personal Protective Equipment to cater to patients.

He said government vehemently condemned the circumstances that led to the death of Miss Naketa Forh, daughter of Rep. Forh as well as a student and queen of the Stella Maris Polytechnic, a Catholic-run institution.

The deputy Information boss said government seriously regrets the incident, adding that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is concerned about the death of Naketa Forh and wants authorities of the hospital to investigate the matter without delay.

But critics say the government’s position on the death of the daughter of the lawmaker, demonstrates favoritism or insensitivity to the well being of ordinary citizens, noting that hundreds of Liberians have faced a similar fate of neglect and death at the hands of health workers in the last three months without any concern from the authorities. 

Minister Jackson said the action by the health care workers is unacceptable to the people of Liberia, noting that in these difficult times, doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners shouldn’t turn their backs on sick persons.

Meanwhile, Assistant Health Minister for Preventive Services Tolbert Nyenswah said the construction of Ebola Treatment Units or ETUs in various communities is to help avoid further spread of the desperate Ebola virus, noting patients sometimes find it difficult to reach the hospital whenever they are infected with the virus.

He erased the fears of residents that erecting treatment units in communities could pose danger, adding that the ETU is even erases than the house, because it poses no threats to anybody.

Minister Nyenswah said people who continue to say negative things about the outbreak are those wishing for its prolongation in the country for selfish motives, adding that no patriotic citizens will say things that would undermine the government’s efforts in combating the Ebola virus.

Nyenswah, who also chairs the government’s Incident Management System, narrated that Ebola is an illness that does not discriminate. “If people will not desist from all kinds of negative things, and buttress government’s effort in this fight, then they just don’t want good for this country”, he concluded.