Health authorities in the Upper West Region are concern about a worsening staffing crisis, driven largely by doctors’ refusal to accept postings to the area, threatening healthcare delivery across the region.

At the 2025 Upper West Regional Health Sector Annual Performance Review, held under the theme “Building a Resilient and Productive Workforce for Improved Health Service Delivery,” the Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Josephat Nyuzaghl, disclosed troubling data highlighting the scale of the challenge.

According to Dr Nyuzaghl, not a single one of the 25 doctors posted to the region in 2025 reported for duty by the end of the year.

“Sadly, none reported,” he said, noting that only three eventually assumed duty in 2026 after what he described as “frantic efforts” by health authorities.

The situation underscores a broader human resource crisis. Despite a total workforce of 6,367 health staff comprising 5,780 permanent and 587 casual workers, the region continues to experience significant losses due to inter-regional transfers.

In 2024, 190 staff left the region, with the number rising slightly to 194 in 2025. In contrast, only 30 staff were posted into the region in 2025, widening an already critical gap.

Dr Nyuzaghl attributed the trend to poor working conditions, limited incentives, and an ongoing reluctance among health professionals to accept postings to deprived areas. “The rate at which our health workers are leaving the region is very concerning,” he stressed, calling for urgent collective action to improve conditions and retain staff.

He further pointed to internal disparities, where many professionals prefer to remain in the regional capital, Wa, leaving rural and peripheral communities underserved. Addressing this imbalance, he said, may require a deliberate redistribution of staff based on need, an effort that will depend heavily on stakeholder support.

Echoing these concerns, the Upper West Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Puozuing, described the refusal of doctors to take up postings as a “persistent structural challenge.” He warned that the continuous outflow of skilled personnel is placing “enormous strain on the few who remain” and undermining efforts to deliver equitable healthcare.

“These statistics must serve as a wake-up call,” the Minister said, urging a coordinated response involving government, development partners, and local stakeholders. He called for improved incentive packages, better accommodation, and expanded professional development opportunities to make the region more attractive to health workers.

Despite the grim outlook, some interventions are offering hope. Dr Nyuzaghl announced that the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons has granted full accreditation to the Upper West Regional Hospital as a Level B training site. Beginning in the 2026/2027 academic year, the facility will train specialist doctors in surgery and pediatrics.

The move is expected to help retain doctors who might otherwise leave for further training in larger teaching hospitals. Additionally, plans by the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies to establish a medical school in Wa are seen as a long-term strategy to build and sustain a local health workforce.

Even as these measures take shape, both officials emphasized the need for a shift in mindset among health professionals nationwide.

The Regional Minister appealed to doctors to see postings to the Upper West Region “not merely as routine assignments but as a noble opportunity to serve where their expertise is most needed.”

Source: Info Radio