Abubakari Ibrahim Wangara, GNA
Nadowli (UWR), Sept
29, GNA – The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Upper West and a Coalition of youth
groups in Nadowli-Kaleo District are in standoff over the transfer of a
gynaecologist from the Nadowli District Hospital.
The youth coalition is
protesting the transfer of gynaecologist Ibrahim Muslim, and demanding the
decision is reversed.
The regional health
directorate, however, says the transfer is justified and that this is to ensure
equitable distribution of doctors in the region.
Mr Ankaara John Bosco
Spokesperson of the youth, said in a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Wa,
said “while we acknowledge that transfers are normal administrative procedures
for every organization, we think that dealing with a specialist requires a more
careful approach”.
He added that the
region lacked health specialists, especially gynaecologists, and that the
transferred gynaecologist was rendering vital services to Nadowli-Kaleo,
Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, Jirapa, Lawra, Nandom and Lambussie.
“Even some of the
cases from Wa Municipal come to the Nadowli District Hospital gynaecologist for
treatment and care.”
He claimed the
District Hospital sponsored the training of Dr Muslim and therefore he was
required to serve the district for some time.
When contacted, Dr
Abdulai Abukari, the Regional Director of Health, confirmed both the transfer
of Dr Muslim and the fact that he was sponsored by the Nadowli-Kaleo Hospital.
He said it was also
the case that the same gynaecologist was sponsored by the Wa Municipal Assembly
to pursue surgery degree programme.
The region lacked
doctors and so there was the need to equitably distribute the few that were
available to the various facilities to ensure equity.
“If you are a father
and you have food and that food is not enough for the children, the best thing
to do is distribute it among them and not to give to some and leave others.”
As of September 01,
this year, Upper West had 33 Doctors at post, but seven of them had now left to
pursue further studies.
Wa Municipality has 11
doctors with nine of them in the regional hospital.
Nadowli had four – the
gynaecologist, a medical superintendent together with two others, while Jirapa
also had four, Lawra, five, Nandom five, Lambusia five, Sisala West, one, Tumu,
two, and Jirapa Polyclinic, one.
“The one at Tumu is
doing a distance programme and looking at the distance from Tumu to Wa, and the
bad road network, we need someone to attend to the maternal cases over there
and the best thing to do is to send a gynaecologist to that area and that is
exactly what we have done,” he said.
“We are working to get
adequate doctors to redistribute them to the various districts but I cannot
give time lines,” he said.
“We are in talks with
specialists who have expressed interest to join but I think it would take some
time”.
GNA