Upper East gets five additional doctors
Dr Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) says the Region was able to attract and retain five additional Medical Officers, in the first half of this year.
The Region had over the years battled with shortage of critical health staff, especially Doctors who refuse postings to the area.
In 2021 for instance, all 10 Medical Officers posted to the Region refused to report.
“I am happy to announce that during the half of 2022, we were able to attract five additional Medical Officers to the Region. I hereby express my sincere thanks and appreciation to those Doctors for accepting to come and work in the Region.”
Dr Dzotsi announced this at the 2022 mid-year health performance review meeting of stakeholders in Bolgatanga, the regional capital, on the theme; “The role of quality data in improving service delivery outcomes.”
The Regional Director assured health professionals who still had doubts about accepting postings to the Region, saying “The Upper East Region is a place to work. All the myths about the Region are not true, the Region is the best place to work in.”
He appealed to the Regional Coordinating Council, Municipal and District Assemblies, and other stakeholders to put in place residential and office accommodation, some monetary incentive packages and comfort items to attract and retain more health staff in the Region.
He noted that the inadequate numbers of critical human resources such as Physician and Surgical Specialists, Medical Officers, Physician Assistants, Midwives, Laboratory Scientists among other health professionals continued to thwart their effort at achieving some critical service indicators and targets.
Dr Dzotsi said as of the period under review, the Doctor to population ratio in the Region was 1:23,724 and that of nurses was 1:290.
He said health personnel who accepted postings and worked in deprived areas in the Region were given promotion after two years, study leave with pay after three years and early postings out of the deprived areas after serving for two years.
The Director said the Region currently had 56 Medical Officers including Obstetric and Gynaecological Specialist, Physician and Surgical Specialists and some general practitioners stationed at the Regional Hospital, while the remaining Officers were distributed across the Region.
The Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Yakubu, said as part of efforts to increase the number of Doctors in the Region, the RCC had directed all 15 Municipal and District Assemblies to identify and sponsor medical students, and bond them to return and serve.
Source: GNA