By The Ashanti Regional Director of Health, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, is urging the government to recruit nurses to fill the substantial gap left by the departure of numerous health professionals from the country.
He expressed his frustration over the unemployment situation among nurses in Ghana, stating that the number of nurses in health facilities is inadequate.
Speaking at the launch of the 2024 Nurses and Midwives Week in the Ashanti region, he called on the government to take pragmatic steps in recruiting nurses who are currently awaiting posting.
“Why would we be crying for a shortage of nurses while we have nurses staying in the house after school for over 4 years? We cannot be complaining while there are solutions available to the problem”.
Dr. Tinkorang downplayed the claim of financial constraints in employing more nurses, suggesting that the government use the salaries of those who have left to hire new nurses.
“As a country, we must look at possible ways to recruit these nurses and one of the ways to do this is by using the salaries of nurses who have traveled out of the country. The nurses were taking salary before leaving, so what happens to that salary since they are not working in the country anymore?”
Regarding health infrastructure development and access to quality health services, Dr. Tinkorang revealed that all new hospitals built in the region, particularly the Fomena hospital, will be operationalized as specialist hospitals to enhance healthcare in the region.
“In order to ensure universal coverage as this year’s theme implies; all newly established hospitals in the region are being converted into a specialist hospitals. For example, the Fomena hospital will have specialist to attend to gynaecological cases in or to reduce maternal and child mortality,” he added.
