Over 3000 nurses have left Ghana for greener pastures

The Ghana Health Service has disclosed that a total of 3,688 health personnel have departed the country in the past three years in pursuit of better opportunities abroad. This includes both professional and critical caregivers.

Some of the healthcare professionals leaving Ghana attribute their departure to unfavorable working conditions within the country. In response to this concerning trend, the Ghana Health Service has taken steps to address the issue. As of 2021, the service has revised and doubled study leave for unprofessional nurses. The expectation is that, by the middle of the next year, many of these nurses would have qualified to help fill the resulting staffing gap.

However, during the parliamentary debate on the Health Ministry’s 2024 budget, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu suggested that the government should consider increasing remuneration to tackle this ongoing problem. He emphasized the need to conduct a thorough audit of the departed nurses to determine the extent of the deficit and facilitate the recruitment of replacements.