The Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anaesthetists (GACRA) has threatened to withdraw its services starting December 1, 2026, if the government fails to address persistent challenges crippling the profession and risking healthcare delivery across the country.
The leadership of the association revealed that despite submitting numerous petitions to the government over the past four years, their appeals for intervention have continually fallen on deaf ears.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the association’s 8th Annual General Meeting in Accra, GACRA President James Nwinsagra raised alarm over a drastic decline in the number of practising anaesthetists nationwide. He revealed that the active workforce has plummeted from 1,200 to just 582, creating an acute shortfall that severely undermines the delivery of safe anaesthesia services.
Nwinsagra urged the government to invest heavily in training institutions and health infrastructure to expand the country’s capacity to produce more certified professionals and curb the ongoing brain drain. He stressed that while an industrial action remains a last resort, members feel forced into a corner by the employer’s persistent neglect.
He explained that anaesthesia service in Ghana is currently in a crisis, noting that after four years of unanswered petitions, a strike might be the only language the government understands to finally pay attention to their plight.
Reiterating the association’s stance, the National Public Relations Officer for GACRA, Seth McAndoh, spoke on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM’s flagship news bulletin, Nyankonton Mu Nsem. He emphasized that leadership has exhausted all formal channels and made exhaustive attempts to have their grievances resolved, yet no concrete action has been taken by the authorities.
McAndoh revealed that working conditions for anaesthetists across the country have deteriorated significantly, with many professionals working under high-stress environments without corresponding compensation or logistical support.
He lamented that despite several engagements and attempts to negotiate improved pay structures and enhanced welfare packages, nothing has materialized.
He emphasized that the continuous failure to review their remuneration package has demoralised practitioners, directly driving the severe brain drain currently crippling public health institutions.
McAndoh warned that leadership has exhausted all internal mechanisms, and unless the government takes concrete steps to address these long-standing financial and operational concerns before the December 1 deadline, all certified registered anaesthetists will lay down their tools.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
