- In 2023, over 200 nurses and healthcare workers left Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), raising concerns about the impact on hospital operations. CEO Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah urged the government to quickly fill the vacancies to ensure uninterrupted patient care.
- He also highlighted severe equipment shortages and called for urgent retooling of departments, emphasizing the need for coordinated action to address growing challenges in Ghana’s healthcare system.
Over 200 nurses and other health workers left Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in 2023, according to Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, the hospital’s chief executive officer, who expressed concern about the departure of healthcare professionals.
Professor Addai-Mensah expressed concern about how this mass departure will affect the hospital’s operations and underlined how urgently the government had to step in to solve the personnel issue.
Professor Addai-Mensah stressed the importance of these departing employees at a meeting with the delegation of Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam and encouraged the authorities to move quickly to fill the positions.
In order to maintain continuity in patient care and service delivery at the hospital, he called for quick action to replace the departing staff.
Professor Addai-Mensah emphasized the severe equipment shortage the hospital is facing in addition to the personnel issue, and she urged the government to give departmental retooling top priority.
The plea comes amidst growing concerns about the strain on healthcare facilities nationwide and underscores the pressing need for collaborative efforts to address the healthcare challenges facing the country.
Backgrouund
Ghana continues to grapple with the challenge of brain drain, particularly in critical sectors such as healthcare, academia, technology, and engineering. Reports from the World Bank indicate that nearly half of the country’s trained medical professionals now work overseas, reflecting a trend seen across many African nations.
Data from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in 2019 reveals that roughly 300,000 Ghanaians have emigrated over the past 20 years, predominantly heading to North America and Europe in search of better career opportunities.
Source: NewsandVibes.com