The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has expressed shock and concern over reports that some medical doctors have changed their postings without his knowledge or approval.
The Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Braimah Baba Abubakari, disclosed that two newly posted medical doctors who reported to the Upper East Region have left the region to seek reposting to the Northern Region after their request to work at the regional hospital was not granted.
“Out of the 27 doctors posted to the Upper East Region, only seven showed up. Two of them said that if they were not posted to the regional hospital, they would go back, and indeed they have gone and found themselves in the Northern Region,” he explained.
Reacting to the information, Mr. Akandoh said the development was troubling and would be investigated.
“For example, I was asking how people were able to change their postings from Bolga to the Northern Region. I am going to take this matter very seriously — very, very seriously,” the Minister stated.
The Minister made the remarks during his visit to the Upper East Region, where he engaged health officials, MDCEs and toured the regional hospital in Bolgatanga. He emphasized that he had not authorized any reposting of doctors and warned that no individual or institution had the authority to alter postings without approval from the Ministry of Health.
“I have not changed anybody, and nobody has a right to change anybody if I have not said so, or if I have not authorized or sanctioned it,” he stressed.
The Minister further cautioned health workers that changing postings on their own could have serious consequences, particularly with regard to salary payments.
“I have told them that if this year you change any posting, you change yourself,” he said, explaining that doctors who fail to report to their officially designated duty stations may not be paid.
According to him, government recruitment and postings are done based on areas where health services are most needed, especially in regions facing shortages of medical personnel. His comments follow concerns raised by regional health authorities about the difficulty of retaining medical doctors in some parts of the country, including the Upper East Region, where only a few of the doctors posted this year have reported for duty.
A1 Radio | 101.1Mhz | Joshua Asaah | Bolgatanga
