The 245 medical doctors who are clamouring for appointment after completing their internship are being too impatient, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Robert Cudjoe, has said.

“They only need a little bit of patience and I don’t think they have sat home for six months,” Mr Cudjoe told Moro Awudu on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 18 October.

“They’ve just completed their rotation, a letter [has been] sent to Finance Ministry, now we are only waiting for Finance to give us the greenlight to post them, they should be a little patient. … They can’t wait for a few months for their appointment to be done?” Mr Cudjoe wondered, adding: “If you have finished your rotation and you’ve been home for three months, do you need to go on air [about it]?”

“We talk of administrative procedures, we have received their list, we have submitted the list to Finance Ministry, we are only waiting for Finance to grant us our request to post them; if the letter is with Finance, we don’t sign these clearance letters at the Ministry of Health. …All the workers in Ghana receive clearance from Finance, it is their mandate, it is something they do on daily basis so it’s not like you have put pressure on them to do what they do,” Mr Cudjoe said.

“These young guys have completed barely two, three months of their rotation, and you are talking about forever. You know the Ministry of Health this year alone has recruited almost 16,000 nurses and other health professionals. Those who have sat home for close to five years have almost all been considered, so can’t we give this government a little thumb’s up? Can’t we appreciate what the government is doing? … Who can resolve all the problems in this world? It doesn’t happen. … It is the Finance Ministry that signs the letter so if they have not signed it, they have not called us for the letter, what do we do? Without the clearance letter you can’t post any doctor. … Can’t they have a little bit of patience?” Mr Cudjoe asked.

The affected doctors are threatening to leave the country for employment since they have not been given clearance for their appointment six months after their rotation.

“I’m a little surprised of the posture of Mr Robert Cudjoe in this matter,” Dr John-Diego Kosoe told Moro Awudu.