Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, the Chief Executive Officer of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), has revealed that in 2023, over 200 nurses and other healthcare professionals departed from the hospital.
He expressed concern over the adverse impact of their departure on the hospital’s operations.
In a meeting with Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam and his delegation while touring the facility, Professor Addai-Mensah urged the government to authorize the replacement of the departed staff to improve service delivery.
“In the past year, we have had over 200 nurses leave Komfo Anokye. Every day, I have had to approve three to five applications for either leave of absence or resignation, mostly nurses, radiographers, and medical laboratory scientists, and so we are praying that we should be given the opportunity to replace these people who are leaving so that we can continue with the care that we are supposed to be giving to our patients.”
The hospital also grapples with an acute equipment deficit, for which Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah urged the government to make commitments toward retooling the various departments.
“One of the major things we are facing is the retooling of the hospital. We are aware of the difficulties the government has had with respect to COVID-19 and others, but we believe that it is also possible for some help to be extended [to us] as far as retooling is concerned, especially given the fact that we are serving twelve regions.”