“On the whole, it’s like the rapture. Certain nurses you encounter disappear the following day after you last saw them.
These are the concerned comments of Dr. Nana Kwesi Blankson, the acting medical director of the Kumasi South Hospital, which also serves as a regional hospital.
The hospital is one of the institutions that has been least affected by the departure of medical personnel, particularly nurses in the Ashanti area.
The emigrations are not only pronounced and widespread, but they are also having a negative impact on the hospital and its services because over half of all units are affected.
Due to the circumstance, the institution has a limited number of employees to oversee crucial departments including maternity, mental health, surgical wards, and operating rooms, among others.
For instance, just 8 of the 20 nurses assigned to work at the facility’s Male Surgical Ward were on duty as of Wednesday, July 5, 2023, with the remaining 12 reportedly looking for work in other parts of the country.
“Look at the space. It’s not simple,” said Victoria Safoa Osei, the acting nurse manager.
Now, the majority of the nurses are leaving their positions while pretending to be on leave.
Critical health experts are leaving the field on a daily basis rather than a monthly or weekly basis anymore.
Dr. Nana Kwesi Blankson stated, confused, “We have nurses leaving our facility on a daily basis.”
The increasing number of medical professionals—especially nurses—who are emigrating for better opportunities overseas has angered officials at the Ghana Health Service.
Over 300 nurses left their jobs in the first quarter of this year in the Ashanti area alone.
The Service has not yet finished its assessment of the mass exodus, but according to authorities, a sizable number of highly qualified nurses have departed Ghana.
A surge of Ghanaian healthcare professionals are relocating as a result of the increased demand for their services in richer nations.
The anticipation of better working circumstances, flexible scheduling, and more compensation in foreign nations is causing experienced nurses to flee in drones.
In the Ashanti area, where 304 nurses have already gone for overseas in the first quarter of 2023, the nurse diaspora is depleting crucial units of several healthcare institutions.
Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Tinkorang, the director of health services for the Ashanti region, is worried.
“As of the first quarter, we lost around 304 nurses who had sought unpaid leave, so it’s already close to 10 every day.
Because these are the individuals we have spent the most time training, those that are going are the best we have. They have spent years developing the necessary information, abilities, and attitudes.
Concerns are being raised regarding the potential impact on the provision of high-quality healthcare since the few staff members at the health institutions are overworked, and it appears that the Ghana Health Service is unable to find a solution to the brain drain.
According to Deputy Director General Dr. Anthony Ofosu Adofo, the Service is powerless to stop workers who are driven by money from moving abroad.
“The pounds and the dollars, which we cannot match, are what are pulling them, so the pull factor is extremely significant.
He asserted that “if countries have gaps and they have more money than us, they will attract more than we can attract,” using the UK and the US as examples.