Ashanti Region loses over 300 nurses to foreign opportunities in Q1 2023

Report from the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service has indicates that more than 300 healthcare workers, including nurses and doctors in the region, have left the service in the first quarter of 2023 alone.

According to a news report by citinewsroom.com, these health workers are going to seek greener pastures outside of the country.

This exodus by these health workers has raised alarm among authorities, as it is significantly causing what experts describe as a brain drain on healthcare delivery in the region.

According to the data from the directorate, a total of 304 health workers have applied for leave without salaries, signaling their departure from the service.

Most of these health professionals have travelled overseas in pursuit of improved living conditions and career opportunities.

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Heath Service, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, acknowledged the negative consequences of this mass departure on healthcare provision in the region.

“When we did the analysis for the first quarter of 2023, we realised that about 304 applied for leave without pay which means that they have left the service, but additional information indicates that most of them have left the country and these are very skilful health workers with the right knowledge, attitude, and skill to do the job, but it seems that they have been attracted outside the country,” he said.

The departure of such many healthcare professionals poses challenges to the healthcare system, raising concerns about how it will continue to function effectively in their absence, according to the director.

“This is worrying in the sense that these are workers that we need to run the health system in the country and the government is doing well by providing health infrastructure and if our people are leaving the country, how do we run this system?”

Brain drains in which skilled workers, particularly in the health sector, seek better opportunities elsewhere, continues to be a pressing concern that necessitates attention and strategic interventions in order to retain qualified professionals and enhance the country's health sector.

NW/WA



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