Nearly 2,000 critical health professionals vacated post in 2023 – GHS

In 2023, nearly 2,000 critical staff from the Ghana Health Service, including doctors, nurses, midwives, and administrative personnel, abruptly vacated post.

Data from the Ghana Health Service reveals that the departures include staff who took leave without pay, resigned, or abandoned their posts.

It also disclosed that more than 70 percent of the staff were aged below 40.

This attrition rate, according to the Ghana Health Service is negatively impacting the quality of healthcare delivery in Ghana.

Dr. Alberta Biritwum Nyarko, Director of the Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division at the Ghana Health Service, who presented these findings during the Service’s 2024 First Senior Managers’ meeting in Kumasi called for measures to be taken to address the concerns of the health officers to prevent such exits.

“It is also important to note that 70 percent of the staff are aged less than 40 years and this is very important for us as senior managers because we must be able to know how to meet the peculiar needs of this group of staff so that we can have the best out of them.

“Resignations between 2021 and 2023 increased three fold. In 2022, we had 105 and in 2023, we had 300. The retirements saw no increase but the vacation of post is also about two and a half times what we normally see. Almost 2,000 staff vacated post in 2023.”

Meanwhile, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Patrick Kumah Aboagye, also stated that the Service is expanding its study leave quota to provide more opportunities for professional nurses and help bridge the staffing gap.

“We are reviewing our study leave protocols to ensure that we give the nurses more opportunity to convert more of our auxiliary nurses into professional nurses. When that happens, nobody will come and say they are leaving the country for greener pastures, they will rather take leave without pay or resign or walk away.”

Credit: Citi News