The Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, has revealed that more than 200 nurses and other health professionals departed the hospital in 2023, negatively impacting its operations.
During a facility tour with Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam, Professor Addai-Mensah urged the government to authorize the replacement of the departed staff for improved service delivery.
“In the past year, we have had over 200 nurses leave Komfo Anokye. Every day, I have had to approve three to five applications for either leave of absence or resignation, mostly nurses, radiographers, and medical laboratory scientists, and so we are praying that we should be allowed to replace these people who are leaving so that we can continue with the care that we are supposed to be giving to our patients.”
The hospital is also grappling with a severe equipment deficit, prompting a plea from the CEO for the government to commit to retooling various departments.
“One of the major things we are facing is the retooling of the hospital. We are aware of the difficulties that the government has had concerning COVID-19 and others. Still, we believe that it is also possible for some help to be extended [to us] as far as retooling is concerned, especially given the fact that we are serving twelve regions.”