130 doctors posted to KATH – Agyeman-Manu

Government has given financial clearance for 130 doctors to be posted to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) beginning October this year to replace some 150 doctors who left the facility after completing their housemanship, Minister of Health, Kweku Agyemang-Manu, has said.

This development follows the hospital’s decision to suspended new emergency admissions due to the lack of doctors.

Management of KATH said: “Considering our current staff strength, we are of the opinion that further admissions will endanger the lives of patients and impede the provision of quality care. We would like to put on record that this problem was anticipated by all residents in the hospital and management was notified in writing two weeks ago. Unfortunately, management is yet to communicate a response. This problem has been recurring for the past 7 years and we hope an appropriate action is taken to resolve this issue permanently.”

But speaking on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Friday, 15 September 2017 Mr Agyemang-Manu explained the cause of the shortage of doctors and assured that 130 new doctors will be posted to help in health care delivery at the facility.

He told show host, Moro Awudu: “There are two batches of housemen, the seniors and juniors and they do two years. After the first year horsemanship, they are supposed to be reposted to other facilities away from Komfo Anokye while some who opt to stay there do so.

“I think this year what is happening is that there is a new batch to replace those that are leaving and that’s where Komfo Anokye has had some sort of a problem. We have actually allocated 130 doctors, we’ve got financial clearance for them to replace those that are leaving and they are going to come from beginning of October. But then those there who should stay on until these new doctors come to replace them, about 15 of them have vacated their post and they are saying that they wouldn’t work with Komfo Anokye Hospital so they are going to wait for postings at other facilities and that is what is causing the problem…”