Bolgatanga, March 10, GNA – Dr Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), says all 10 medical officers posted to the Region in 2021 refused to report.
“Very worrying situation to note is that of the 10 Medical Officers posted to the Region in 2021, none reported to work in the Region,” he said.
He said there was acute shortage of critical human resource, especially doctors and midwives in the Region, doctor to patient ratio in 2021 stood at 1:24,097, and midwife to women in fertility age population ratio was 1:433 as of December 3, 2021.
He said the Region had a total of nine Specialist Doctors, 42 General Medical Officers, two Dental Medical Officers and 721 midwives, “These numbers are woefully inadequate to take care of over one million population of the Upper East Region.”
Dr Dzotsi said this at the 2021 Regional annual performance review meeting of the Service in Bolgatanga on the theme: “Harnessing the contributions of all stakeholders in reducing the high occurrences of maternal deaths in the Upper East Region.”
He said the Region required critical health staff including Specialist Doctors, Medical Officers, Physician Assistants, Midwives, Laboratory Scientists and many other support staff.
The Director added that, “New Medical Officers and Specialists, including Obstetricians and Gynaecologists posted to the Region feel reluctant or fail to assume duties, while there is also a high attrition rate.”
He noted that the Region was perceived as unattractive, and there was therefore great difficulty in attracting and retaining critical staff such as Doctors, Midwives, Nurses and Physician Assistants.
Dr Dzotsi, therefore, called on concerned partners and stakeholders to ensure incentive packages were put in place to attract and retain Doctors and Midwives in the Region.
On COVID-19 situation in the Region, the Director said, “It is important to stress that COVID-19 is still with us, and the pandemic is not yet over, so we need to continue to keep our guard.
“As of March 6, 2022, there was one active case in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality under home management,” the Director disclosed.
He said the COVID-19 vaccination intake remained low in the Region as of March 6, 2022, adding that the total fully vaccinated stood at 191,264, representing 23 per cent of the targeted population to be vaccinated, and total first dose vaccination was 345,845 representing 41.6 per cent of the targeted population.
“We have adequate COVID-19 vaccines, so therefore, let’s all get vaccinated and encourage others to take the vaccines. I call on us all to adhere to all the safety precautions and protocols for COVID-19 and immediately report any suspected case for quick attention,” he said.
The Director hinted of an outbreak of avian influenza in parts of the Region, and cautioned all, especially poultry farmers to be on the alert and report any case of the influenza to the Veterinary Department for action.
GNA