Reports have indicated that radiographers in hospitals are dangerously in short supply in Ghana and across Africa.

This raises fears about delays in diagnosing and treating life-threatening illnesses.

According to a report by citinewsroom.com, Ghana, with a population of over 30 million, has just 800 radiographers nationwide.

The situation is reported to be worse in Nigeria, where only 200 clinical radiographers serve more than 200 million people.

This acute shortage means diseases affecting the innermost parts of the body often go undetected until it is too late.

The President of the Ghana Society of Radiographers (GSR), Dennis Amartey Ahia, disclosed that Ghana has not recruited any new radiographers since 2019, citing restrictions imposed by external economic policies.

Training remains another major barrier.

According to the Head of the Imaging Department at the University of Cape Coast, Professor Eric Kwasi Ofori, the cost of postgraduate studies in radiography abroad is prohibitive.

“To train a postgraduate student in radiography, you need about £15,000 to £20,000 a year, and for a PhD, you have to pay for four years. It’s a challenge. That’s why we’ve developed a local curriculum and need government support,” he explained, according to the report.

The shortage extends to radiologists, who interpret medical scans.

Ghana currently has only 93 radiologists, meaning each serves roughly 400,000 people.

Many patients are, therefore, compelled to travel long distances for their services, leading to treatment delays and sometimes severe complications.

Speaking at the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists Conference, held alongside the GSR’s Triennial Conference for English-speaking countries, Ahia proposed that the role of radiographers to include image interpretation should be extended, a move that he believes could help bring services closer to patients.

“We as radiographers are opening our scope to be able to interpret the X-ray so that the patient won’t need to travel to find the 93 radiographers in the country,” he said.

ID/AE

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