Ghana reviews doctor’s recruitment process

The Ghana government is currently reviewing the process of recruiting medical doctors in the country to address the shortfalls in rolling them onto the public service after completing their housemanship.

Housemanship takes one year, the Health Minister, Mr Alex Percival Segbefia, said, adding that the exercise is to shorten the period of registering the medical doctors after their housemanship training to enable them get paid on time.

“It is also ensure that they are properly registered biometrically, “Mr Segbefia told Parliament on Wednesday.

Answering questions related to his Ministry, Mr Segbefia said Government has always had the challenge of registering and employing medical doctors after completing their housemanship and this has often led to delays in postings.

“Instead of the situation where people are allowed to go to work and had to be funded by their own means – means of sustenance between three to five months, what is happening now is that, we have the registration in place first before we employ,” he said.

“We acknowledge the gap is too large and efforts are being made by the Ministry of Finance and Controller and Accountant General to ensure that the gap is shortened,” he explained.

Mr Segbefia’s answer was in response to a question posed by the Member of Parliament for Effiduase/Asokore, Frank Boakye Agyen, seeking to know the placement and status of all the newly trained Ghanaian medical doctors.

According to the Minister 486 medical doctors made up of Dental and Medical Officers from all Medical Schools in Ghana and abroad have since September, 2014, been posted to all the teaching hospitals and some regional hospitals for a year’s housemanship in compliance with the Medical and Dental Council’s requirement.

Of the number, 218 were posted in September, 2014 while the remaining 268 trained medical doctors were posted from May-June 2

Source: GNA