Health Service To Recruit 500 Medical Doctors

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, says more than 500 medical doctors would be recruited into the health sector this year, to enhance quality health care delivery.

He said the doctors would come from the four medical schools in the country with Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital, churning out 400, while the University for Development Studies in Temale and the University of Cape Coast would produce 160 respectively.

He added that quite a number of Ghanaian doctors trained outside, including Ukraine, Cuba and China, would be recruited into the Ghana Health Service to boost health care delivery.

He said they would be evenly distributed across the country, and therefore entreated the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), to support those who would be posted to their districts with accommodation.

Dr. Appiah-Denkyira made these disclosures when he interacted with the Media at Sekondi on Tuesday, to discuss achievements chalked under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and strategies put in place to improve upon health indicators in the country.

He hinted that since the MDGs programme would come to an end in September next year, officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) would visit countries worldwide, to assess and measure their performances.

Dr. Appiah-Denkyira observed that Ghana had done extremely well under MDG Six, and said since 2004, no child had died of measles, while no poliomyelitis cases had been recorded for many years, adding that the immunization programme had been successful.

He also revealed that no guinea worm cases had been recorded for more than a decade, and said Ghana is due for certification, therefore, WHO officials would visit the country this year, to verify whether the country had truly eradicated the disease.

He said his outfit had held extensive discussions with the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Ebenezer Kwadwo Teye Addo, some traditional leaders, as well as metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives, on strategies to improve upon neonatal, maternal mortality and other health indicators.

Background

In some regions such as the Northern region, the doctor to population ratio is 1:10,000 with regional variations in the area of 1:50 000.

Although 300 Cuban doctors were recruited to solve the problem, the situation of inadequate doctors is still lingering.

This has posed a major challenge to government as more doctors have left the country to seek for greener pastures.

Major stakeholders in the government sector have raised concerns about the problem.

The Member of Parliament for Berekum East, Hon. Dr. Kwabena Twum Nuamah last year, expressed disquiet at the apparent shortage of medical personnel at the Berekum Holy Family in the Eastern region and called for strategic reforms to address the canker.

He called on government to take immediate steps to revamp it, since it is having a serious toll on the few medical personnel stationed there.