The Western Regional Director of the Ghana Health Services (GHS), Dr. Emmanuel Tenkorang has expressed concern about the limited number of trained medical doctors in the region.
He attributed the situation to the refusal of doctors to accept posting to the region.
“I think there’s a real issue. I don’t know why doctors don’t want to come to work here but we have to find out why”, he said
The Western Regional Hospital, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital is understaffed with medical personnel
In an interview with Citi News, Dr. Tenkorang estimated that the region needs close to 50 doctors in order to satisfactorily attend to the medical needs of the populace.
He stated that the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, which is situated in the regional capital, would on its own require close to half that number in order to function effectively.
Health in Ghana is one of the most important yet the sector is poorly resourced. Many areas across the country have no trained healthcare practitioners or facilities.
The quality of health delivery services in the two main regions, the Greater Accra and the Ashanti Regions has improved over the years.
Undeniably, there have been setbacks. In the past year, Accra and Kumasi, have been reported to have recorded the highest maternal mortality rates; 200 and 201 cases respectively.
Relatively however, mortality rates have dropped and are much lower than in previous years.
The successes recorded however in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions have, regrettably, not trickled down to the other regions.
The quality of health services in the other regions has not improved as much as it has in Accra and Kumasi.
The number of qualified medical personnel who practice in these regions is a major worry.
Trained medical professionals are often drawn to the medical centres in the cities of Accra and Kumasi and to some extent, Tema.
They prefer to work in these cities than in the more rural areas. A major factor for this is the big differences in their respective standards of living.
Considering the fact that a huge chunk of the national budget is allocated to the health sector each year, it is concerning that not enough effort is being made to ensure the health of Ghanaians.
It is a worrying trend and one which must be addressed as soon as possible.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana