Ghana cuts down brain-drain of medical doctors – Rector
Professor David Ofori-Adjei, Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons has said opening postgraduate medical education for specialist training in medicine and surgery has helped to trim down brain-drain in the medical profession.
He said the College has created rare opportunity for training medical doctors locally, which has eased the number of medical doctors who usually leave for postgraduate training outside and never return.
Professor Ofori-Adjei made this known on Wednesday during a press soiree as part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the College.
He said in 2000 and 2003, less than 40 percent of medical doctors stayed back to practise, but the number has shot up to 84 percent as at 2011 and 2012, meaning a lot more doctors were prepared to stay at home to work.
He disclosed that the College has trained about 436 specialists and 15 surgeons, with an average of 80 to 90 being turned out every year.
Professor Ofori-Adjei, however, said the College did not have adequate facilities to absorb the potentially high number of Ghanaian doctors being trained locally and internationally.
He said most trainees had to leave their duty posts to Accra for the training, creating inconveniences for them and their families.
“If one stays somewhere in the middle of the country and comes to Accra for the training, leaving behind the family, it means taking care of two houses and you know the implications…we need to take care of the doctors properly.”
He said even though the funding it is receiving from the consolidated fund is insufficient and irregular, the College has managed to apply its internally generated funds appropriately to acquire video conferencing facilities and set up Information Technology centre supported by MTN.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the College which will be celebrating the Anniversary alongside the Annual General and Scientific Meeting, from Monday, December 2 to Friday, December 13, under the theme “A Decade of Medical Postgraduate Specialist Training”.
A series of events have been planned for the period, including a media briefing, Television and Radio discussions, academic workshops, symposia, public lectures, a health walk, and an exhibition.
The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons was established by an Act of Parliament (Act 635 of 2003) which was repealed by Act 833 of 2011, with specific objectives to promote specialist education in medicine, surgery and related disciplines among others.
Source: GNA