By The Director of Health Services for the Bono Region, Dr. Kofi Amo-Kodieh, is urging the government and relevant stakeholders to promptly deploy unemployed nurses to address the shortage of health personnel in the country.
His appeal comes as an increasing number of nurses opt to leave the country in search of better opportunities due to lack of employment.
Dr. Amo-Kodieh, speaking to Citi News, highlighted the significant outflow of nurses from the region, with 163 nurses departing in 2023 alone.
This departure has placed immense strain on the region’s healthcare system, underscoring the urgent need for additional personnel to deliver quality healthcare services to the populace.
Dr. Amo-Kodieh also noted the departure of doctors from the region, although the numbers are not as significant as those of nurses.
He stressed the critical need to deploy nurses who have completed their education and practical training but have not yet secured employment, as well as those who have finished their national service. This step is essential to mitigate the adverse effects of personnel shortages on the health service delivery in the region.
“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. “
