Doctors, nurses run as gunfire breaks out at Shai Osudoku Hospital

Two armed groups fighting over a parcel of land extended their gunfight to the premises of the Shai Osudoku Hospital near Dodowa in Accra leaving doctors, nurses, patients and other staff fearing for their lives.

The feuding factions, one loyal to an estate developer and the other, a group of residents who were protesting the seizure of their lands decided to take things into their own hands.

One of the feuding factions stormed the hospital where injured persons from the other side had been sent for treatment, demanding access to the emergency unit to finish the horror they had started in their previous encounter.

The injured were in the hospital receiving treatment from severe machete wounds but their angry opponents will have none of that.

Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, Dr. Kennedy Brightson told Joy News’ Maxwell Agbagba as the gunshots rang, doctors, nurses, staff and even patients could not help but run.

He said unarmed security personnel at the hospital had to use benches and other items to block the armed men from entering the facility.

Dr. Brighton who attempted to face the hooligans was prevented from stepping out of the hospital by some members of the public who were there before the incident began on Wednesday evening.

“About three of them stood in front of me and asked that I go to the ward or office and relax but I didn’t want to be told the story. I wanted to be there myself.”

“I have a staff to protect …I must be there if I run away and leave my staff, who will protect them…they can run but if they run and I also follow them then we have opened up the hospital to attack,” he added.

Dr Brighton said when it was all over, “the ground was like the red sea. There was blood on the ground and everybody was walking in it.”

Maxwell learnt during his interaction with the police in the area and reported that the residents had earlier reported the seizure of their lands by the estate developer.

Further investigations by the police proved that the estate developer indeed had genuine documents to the lands they had seized and had gone to prepare for development before the fight broke out.

“The residents came to report that someone had taken their land so the developer was invited for questioning and he produced all documents that were demanded. However the residents who came to report were not able to produce any documents,” Police Divisional Commander of Dodowa Patrick Kwapong said.

The police say nine suspects from the two factions have been arrested.

They have been put before the District Court and remanded in police custody as further investigations into the incident continues.

Source: myjoyonline