More than 300 health workers have left the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Ashanti Region, seeking better opportunities overseas.
This trend, observed during the first quarter of 2023, is having a negative impact on healthcare delivery in the region.
Data from the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate indicates that 304 health workers, including doctors and nurses, have applied for unpaid leave.
Investigations conducted by the directorate reveal that the majority of these workers have traveled abroad in search of improved living conditions.
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, acknowledges the detrimental effect of this exodus on healthcare delivery 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.
“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?”