The Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga is grappling with an acute shortage of health professionals, a situation that is severely impacting the quality of healthcare delivery in the region. The facility, which serves as the major referral center for over 1.3 million people across the region and beyond, is currently struggling to operate with a staff strength far below its capacity.
Established in 1946 as a clinic, the hospital has evolved into a 265-bed referral facility. However, it currently operates with only 760 staff, including just one radiographer and one gynecologist for the entire population—a situation hospital authorities describe as dire.
The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Aiden Suntaa Saanwie, lamented the burden the staff shortage places on existing health workers.
“Our major issue when we went round was staffing. We have received a lot of facilities and we need the recommended staff to be able to use these facilities to the benefit of the people and that is a key challenge. For instance, we don’t have a biomedical engineer and when the machines break down, we have to go and get someone from either Accra, Tamale, or Kumasi to come and work on them. Some of them even come in and end up worsening the problem because they are not certified people,” he stated.
Speaking during a visit by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Dr. Saanwie also highlighted the lack of staff accommodation as a major contributing factor to the challenge. He noted that many health workers are compelled to rent expensive apartments in Bolgatanga due to the absence of institutional housing.
“Staffing for our doctors and nurses is among the challenges. Because of the high rents in town, if you don’t have accommodation and you want to go out and rent, it becomes a challenge,” Dr. Saanwie explained.
While commending members of the committee for the visit, Dr. Saanwie appealed to the government through the committee to assist the management of the hospital in building a chest ward and rehabilitating the maternity block.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, led by Chairman and Member of Parliament for Nabdam, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane, visited the hospital as part of a nationwide tour of teaching and regional hospitals. Other members of the delegation included Patrick Boakye-Yiadom (MP for Obuasi East), Anthony Mwinkaara Sumah (MP for Nadowli-Kaleo), and Kingsley Agyemang (MP for Abuakwa South).
During the visit, the MPs toured key departments, observed healthcare operations firsthand, and held discussions with hospital management to better understand the challenges impeding effective service delivery.
Dr. Nawaane expressed concern over the situation and called on the government to consider special incentive packages to attract health workers to underserved regions. He suggested that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance work together to provide timely financial clearance for health professionals who are willing to work in remote and deprived areas.
“We’ve been to different wards and the problem of staffing is number one and the government needs to do something about it. The financial clearance that they need, the government has to look at it very well and probably look at these remote areas. The financial clearance can be discriminated in such a way that people who want to come to areas like Bolga should have their financial clearance a bit early. How can the who of Upper East region have 1 radiographer and 1 gynecologist when they need about 6,” he stated.
The Committee also emphasized the need for swift action to address the logistical and infrastructure deficits at the hospital, which continue to undermine the delivery of quality health services. Dr. Nawaane commended the management for maintaining the hospital facility but entreated them to close up the revenue gaps of the hospital “so that the hospital can earn income”.
“They are talking about staff attrition, when they post people here, within two or two years, they leave. You can post a hundred staff here but without motivation, they will leave. I believe that if the hospital’s IGF is good, they will be able to some extent assist in this staff motivation and reduce staff attrition,” he suggested.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga
