
Dr. Samuel K. Boakye Boateng, the Regional Health Director of the Upper East Region of Ghana, has expressed concern over a statement issued by some anonymous nurses and midwives at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, which he believes aims to tarnish the image of the region and the entire health sector.

According to Dr. Boakye Boateng, many nurses and midwives, as well as other specialized professionals at the facility, frequently abandon their hospital duties to take locum positions at private hospitals in the municipality. Others leave the facility to attend school without proper study leave, creating unnecessary pressure on the limited staff available.
Dr. Boakye Boateng described the actions of some hospital staff who hide behind various issues as mischief. He stated, “People are supposed to be at work, but they engage in private work and do not come to the hospital. Leadership needs to bring them to order. I raised these concerns when I met them, This is mischief. I’m Dr. Boakye, the Regional Health Director, and I mean serious business. Won’t I be happy if our regional hospital were like the Wa Regional Hospital, which won an award at the Ghana Health Service Excellence Awards? Years ago, they had very few nurses, but the quality of healthcare is not solely determined by the number of nurses.”

He noted that the regional hospital, which is the apex facility in the area, oversees about eighty health centers and eight district hospitals.
Dr. Boakye Boateng called on the management of the regional hospital to ensure that the approximately 200 nurses report to work daily without leaving for locum jobs. He stated that there is a quota for every region regarding enrolled nurses, general nurses, staff nurses, and midwives, but around 80% of these nurses refuse posting to region but however prefer to work in Accra and Kumasi. He is working to ensure that they report to their designated posts in the Upper East Region.
Upon taking office as the new Regional Health Director, Dr. Boakye Boateng noted significant gaps in the health sector. He is taking steps with his team to address these issues, which include recruiting specialized professionals for various district hospitals and health centers across the region. For example, he had to plead with a doctor to go to the Bongo District Hospital after Dr. Williams Gudu left, and he is working to resolve issues at Sandema District Hospital to ensure quality healthcare for the community.
He lamented how some health professionals in the region are focused on developing their private health facilities at the expense of the regional hospital, thereby negatively impacting healthcare delivery in the area. He described the situation at the regional hospital as a cabal sabotaging its operations.

Some nurses at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital have issued a press statement lamenting the shortage of nurses and midwives at the facility, which has expanded without sufficient staff. Speaking anonymously for fear of victimization, some nurses indicated that there have been instances where only one nurse is available in certain units to manage emergencies, raising concerns about the quality of care. In some cases, these health workers have not been able to access their annual leave.
The disgruntled nurse noted that the regional hospital currently employs a total of 101 enrolled nurses, 87 midwives, and 267 general nurses. Out of this total, 11 are nurse specialists, and there are 14 community health nurses.
One disgruntled nurse stated that they have suffered for long due to the inadequate number of staff at the regional hospital, an issue that has persisted since 2023. They have petitioned the health directorate and the regional minister, Dr. Alhaji Hafiz Bin Sally, but these efforts have not resulted in meaningful change. This frustration has led them to leak information through a press statement to the media, hoping to bring attention to the matter.

Full Statement from Disgruntled Staff of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital:
The nurses and midwives of the Upper East Regional Hospital are sounding the alarm on the critical shortage of nursing staff and its consequent effect on the quality of patient care. This shortage is resulting in reduced patient care quality, delays in treatment and procedures, compromised patient safety, and increased workload and burnout for existing staff.
Following expansion works, the hospital has established nine new clinical wards/units, including the Female Surgical Ward, Pediatric Surgical Ward, Accident & Emergency Department, Pediatric Emergency, Main ICU, Dialysis Unit, Recovery Ward, KMC Ward, and the Public Health Unit. The current staff strength is woefully inadequate for the smooth and safe running of the hospital. We have reported this unprecedented shortage and its implications for patient care to the management of the regional hospital multiple times. We trust that management has presented the human resource gaps of the facility to the leadership of the Regional Health Directorate. A committee was established in October 2024 by the Upper East Regional Minister to assess the hospital’s nursing staffing situation. We are fairly certain that one of the findings was a severe staffing shortage.
However, it is clear that the leadership of the Regional Health Directorate is not paying attention to our plea. In the current posting of nurses and midwives, only 9 out of 220 enrolled and general nurses reported to the regional health directorate have been posted to the regional hospital. While there is currently a severe nursing staff shortage at the regional hospital, the directorate, per a letter dated December 19, 2024, has posted seven nurses to the Bolgatanga Municipality to await the completion of a new maternity and child health facility that is yet to be equipped at Sumbrungu.
It is concerning to note that six different surgical specialists in the hospital’s main theater work with only nine nurses. Strangely, without a surgeon, the Bongo District Hospital has 17 nurses working in its theater, while the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo, which has one surgeon, operates with 12 nurses. This shortage of nursing staff at the regional hospital’s theater reflects a broader issue across the 26 clinical units/wards of the facility. The Regional Hospital currently requires an additional 200 Registered General Nurses to adequately deliver safe and quality patient care.
We are deeply concerned about the quality and safety of care rendered to patients. Safe, quality, and standard care depend significantly on adequate staffing. We are calling on the government, the Minister of Health, the Director-General of GHS, and opinion leaders to act now to ensure that the facility has adequate nursing staff for improved healthcare outcomes.
Thank you.
Source: mywordfmonline.com/ Gaspard A Adongo