The Bono Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Kofi Amo-Kodieh, has called on the government and stakeholders to urgently post unemployed nurses to fill the gap in a bid to address the shortage of health personnel in the country.
His plea follows the increased number of nurses leaving the country to seek greener pastures over lack of employment.
Dr Kofi Amo-Kodieh, in an interview with Citi News, explained that the region is experiencing a significant number of nurses leaving for greener pastures, with a total of 163 nurses departing in 2023 alone.
This exodus has left the health system in the region strained and in dire need of additional personnel to provide quality healthcare services to the community.
Additionally, Dr Amo-Kodieh also highlighted the departure of doctors from the region, although not as significant as the nurses.
He emphasized the importance of posting nurses who have completed their education and practical experience but have not yet been employed, as well as those who have finished their national service, to ensure that the health service is not adversely affected by the shortage of personnel.
“The nurses are leaving as you said, the doctors are leaving also but not so much as the nurses. As we talk now, for just 2023, we lost 163 nurses to greener pastures, they just left to access greener pastures.
“That does not count what we lost in 2022, and from January to now, what we’ve lost is just the 2023 figure I’m talking about. And we know also that there are three or four sets of nurses in their homes, not employed yet, therefore when we get them on board, then the service will not be affected at all.
“So we urge the government to quickly employ nurses who have finished their education, who have finished their practical experiences, or finished what they call national service in some cases. Then the government should be proactive enough and push them into the system for us to have the equity that we need. “
