The rate at which medical practitioners are leaving the shores of Ghana is cause for grave concern if nothing is done to stem the tide, because it will negatively impact the country’s healthcare delivery.

According to Head-Department of Surgery, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Professor J.E. Mensah, at least three medical doctors vacate their post at the Department per month.

In other departments of the hospital, according to the surgeon, the phenomenon is dire and peaked during the advent of the COVID-19 till date.

“These experts are leaving the country, especially critical-care nurses and doctors,” he lamented.

Similarly, at Pantang Hospital in Accra nearly 150 experienced nurses and other health professionals from that facility alone have left the country’s shores in search of greener pastures during the last six years.

Of that number, 100 are specialised psychiatric and general nurses while the rest comprise doctors, pharmacists, technicians and other experienced personnel in the healthcare delivery chain.

More worryingly, over 3,000 nurses and midwives reportedly travelled out of the country in 2022 alone in search of greener pastures, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) notes.

According to Prof. Mensah, some western countries are even more aggressive and are employing bonded nurses and doctors by offering attractive salaries that these experts cannot reject.

Once hospitals abroad are offering very attractive salaries the situation seems impossible to halt, and thus it becomes difficult convincing people to stay.

Western countries are very interested in the skilled medical expertise that KBTH and other health facilities across the country are endowed with. Therefore, low salaries for doctors and specialised medical staff remains a problem.

For instance, medical doctors who currently work at the KBTH, or other national hospitals across the country, do not earn up to US$400 per month – while an expert doctor of any nationality who is employed in the US is likely to get paid an average annual salary of US$165,347… and more in some fields.

In spite of these attractive conditions, some doctors are prepared to stay and offer their services here. We believe these patriotic ones ought to be acknowledged and rewarded as some form of incentive.

Government really needs to find a way of retaining critical medical staff as well as invest in training more doctors, and employ them with fair pay as quickly as possible.