The Tepa Government Municipal Hospital in the Ahafo Ano North Municipality of the Ashanti Region has reiterated grave concerns over a critical shortage of nursing staff and inadequate staff accommodation.
The facility stated that these deficiencies are significantly compromising effective healthcare delivery.
Director Highlights Overwhelming Workload
According to the Municipal Health Director, Dr Frederick Kwaku Ofori, the hospital is currently overwhelmed due to insufficient staff, resulting in an extremely difficult working environment for the health professionals on duty.
Dr Ofori also emphasised the struggle staff face in securing suitable accommodation, noting that the limited available options are prohibitively expensive.
He made these disclosures during a media interview coinciding with the celebration of Nurses and Midwives Week and the launch of the proposed Ghana Staff Housing Project held at the hospital.
Dr Ofori issued an urgent appeal to governmental authorities and relevant stakeholders to intervene immediately by providing additional nurses and addressing the accommodation challenges.
”We face a major challenge here. Nurses posted to this facility find it difficult to secure accommodation, and the available options are costly, leading many to seek transfers. This poses a significant hurdle for us. Currently, we have 58 midwives, 8 community health nurses, and 69 general nurses. We are appealing to the chiefs and the MCE to intervene. We require increased nurse postings to alleviate the heavy workload.”
In response, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ahafo Ano North, Hon. Kwasi Adusei, assured the health workers that he would formally present their request to the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to ensure an increase in staff postings to the hospital.
The MCE further stated that the facility is slated for upgrading to a referral hospital soon, which necessitates increased manpower and enhanced infrastructure support.
Hon. Adusei also called upon philanthropists and benevolent organisations to contribute resources to support the hospital’s ongoing development.
”I have duly noted the concerns raised. I will present these issues to the relevant authorities for prompt action. The principal issue remains accommodation, which is why the hospital has initiated steps to raise funds for constructing staff housing. The hospital is severely understaffed, and I will engage directly with the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health on this matter. As this is a major hospital soon to be elevated to a referral facility, we must spare no effort in supporting its needs.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
