Bawku West is facing a shortage of health professionals, with district authorities describing inadequate staffing as one of the biggest challenges affecting healthcare delivery in the area.
Speaking on A1 Radio, the District Chief Executive, James Ayamwego, said the district hospital sometimes operates with only two staff on a shift, despite handling admissions and referral cases, placing significant pressure on workers.
“I think in Bawku West, if workers come and they are eager to leave, the only reason could be workload,” he said.
“Imagine the entire district hospital, you have just only two staff for a shift. Even if you have two for a shift, that is dangerous. Look at the workload,” he added.
To address the challenge, Mr. Ayamwego said the district, in collaboration with the Member of Parliament, has introduced scholarship support for students pursuing medical and health related programmes, with the aim of encouraging them to return and serve in the district after training.
“Together with the Member of Parliament, what we are doing is that last year we launched scholarship support to take care of students who are willing to study medicine so that in coming years we can have our own people accepting postings to the district to work,” he said.
He noted that limited financial resources remain a major constraint to expanding the initiative, but expressed optimism that the PEARL Project could help strengthen the district’s healthcare workforce over time.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Gifty Eyram Kudiabor | Bolgatanga
