By: Ama Gyamfuah
Dr. Opoku Ampomah, CEO of Ghana’s leading referral facility, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, has expressed concern over the growing number of doctors and nurses leaving the country.
He emphasized the need for urgent measures to address this issue, which is significantly impacting the hospital.
Speaking in an interview, Dr Ampomah said, “Doctors and nurses are too eager to leave, and they are leaving.There are push and pull factors, so once you have a situation where better conditions are being offered elsewhere, people move to those places because they feel they can make more financially”.
Describing the current situation at the hospital, he noted, “We’ve had several doctors leaving, and so far, the numbers that have left are concerning.
“It’s the trend that we are concerned about because, at the moment, we still have reasonable numbers of staff to work with. But I think we need to do something soon to stem the tide”.
He further clarified that the concern isn’t just about the number of healthcare workers leaving, but also about the specific individuals who are departing.
“If you look at it just on the total number of nurses, probably you may see that the difference may not be that much. But if you look qualitatively at who is leaving—because if you have an ICU nurse with 15 years plus experience when they leave, it’s like you have a whole institution gone”.
Dr. Ampomah noted that the country is losing highly experienced health professionals to Western countries and local private facilities.
He also described the recruitment of nurses by wealthy nations from poorer countries as being “out of control”.