The head of Korle-Bu Medical Department, Professor Alfred Neequaye, has disclosed that the hospital is currently experiencing a shortage of nurses. Prof. Neequaye said about 1,000 nurses are presently working at the hospital, but as many as that number are required to make the hospital more efficient. The shortage he said had forced the nurses to work under extreme conditions for rather low remunerations. Often the deplorable conditions infuriate some of them who in turn vent their anger on patients.

Last Friday at a press briefing preceding a donor conference dubbed ?Korle-Bu in Transition? scheduled for this Thursday, Prof Neequaye stated that nurses at Korle-Bu work under pressure as much as ten times compared to the salary they are being paid. He cited a situation in the hospital where two nurses cater for 50 patients daily. Under such conditions, he said, some of them are depressed and that greatly affects their performance of duty.

Throwing more light on the problem confronting the hospital, the Chief Executive, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, emphasized the training of doctors would be fruitless. If nurses are not offered better remuneration and the exodus persists, ?This is because no doctor could function efficiently without a nurse? he added. The heart surgeon recalled an instance where a senior nurse and two colleagues who, after serving for 40 years, could not afford a decent accommodation and a car. In view of that, Prof Boateng explained that part of the money that would be accrued from the five years donor foundation fund, which is expected to raise ?500bn would be set aside to improve the welfare of nurses so as to mitigate their exodus.

Prof. Boateng appealed to all Ghanaians and other donor agencies to contribute to the foundation in order to put the hospital on high pedestal within the West African sub-region. Meanwhile, Hon Theresa Tagoe, the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing and Ghana Commercial Bank have already donated ?20m and ?70m respectively to the foundation