The Upper East Region with a population of about a million has no gynaecologist among the 22 medical doctors living and working in the region.

The unavailability a gynaecologist has greatly contributed to the high incidence of vaginal related diseases and other infections, which could have been cured at their early stages.

The Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Joseph Amankwa, who made this known to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga said the region needs about 50 doctors to match the ratio of patients who visit hospitals and other health facilities in the region.

He said there was so much workload and pressure on the few doctors working in the region, and that the doctor-patient ratio is nothing to write home about. "We make sacrifices and there is virtually no incentives good enough to motivate us".

He said the doctors were operating under trying conditions with obsolete equipment and that budgetary allocations to the region were also inadequate to drive an efficient service.

Dr Amankwa said an average of one nurse leaves the region every month in search of greener pasture abroad, adding that his outfit is taking stern measures to discourage the practice.

He said henceforth, no nurse would be allowed to go on leave for a number of months without pay, adding, that nurses were asking for leave without pay and were using that as an opportunity to leave. "I will not sign any such letters again. They can choose to go to Accra to work that out on their own," he emphasised.