More Brain-Drain

Do we, as a nation, have any moral right to cry about brain-drain any longer, particularly with regards to brain-drain of medical doctors?

This is the pertinent question that The Ghanaian Lens would like the people of this country to ponder as we, as a nation, assimilate the ramifications of the recent dismissal of some ninety newly qualified doctors by the Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng-led Korle Bu administration.

With a stroke of his pen, Dr. Frimpong-Boateng dispensed of the services of some ninety newly qualified doctors, making it clear that Korle Bu can run without them.

The 'crime' that these newly qualified doctors have 'committed' was that they dared to ask the authorities of the Frimpong-Boateng-led Korle Bu administration to spell out, in writing, their (new doctors) conditions employment.

Apparently, by asking that the authorities spell out their conditions of service in writing, the new doctors must have 'committed' a heinous 'crime' that could not be forgiven, because not even the CEO of Korle Bu, the selfsame Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, knows his condition of service.
Now, if Dr. Frimpong-Boateng, the CEO of Korle Bu, by his own admission last week, on Peace FM, that even he does not know his conditions of service, why should he forgive some upstarts who must have appeared to him to want to upset the status quo by demanding that their conditions of service should be spelt out in writing?

Obviously, since the eminent Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boatengs of this world do not know their conditions of service, then nobody else, least of all some upstart freshly qualified doctors, has the right to demand that theirs be spelt out, and in writing.

So now, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has won. He has succeeded in forcing the young doctors to, as it were, eat humble pie and render an unqualified apology to him for demanding that their conditions of service be spelt out in writing.

Good for Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, who, judging from the TXT messages that some radio stations have been reading out, has suddenly become the toast of some shallow thinking Ghanaians who see his dismissal of the ninety doctors as heroic, particularly as it has forced the freshly qualified doctors to stand down.

Of course, not many of those who are today toasting Prof. Frimpong-Boateng know that it was possible for him to force the freshly qualified doctors to back down on their demands because, willy nilly, the young doctors must perform a two-year post-medical school housemanship as a prerequisite for qualification as full-fledged medical doctors.

So, Frimpong-Boateng has compelled the doctors to back down now because they must do their compulsory two-year housemanship; but once that is out of the way would anyone blame these young doctors if some of them decide to look outside the shore of Ghana for employments at places where the authorities would not be hesitant in spelling out their conditions of service?

As a nation, we are quick to blame young doctors for joining the exodus bandwagon as soon as they leave medical school, but we almost always ignore the push factors that contribute to their seeking greener pastures elsewhere.

The Ghanaian Lens believes that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has just provided these young doctors with the most compelling push factor to join the exodus bandwagon.

Only let no one come preaching about the need to stem any brain drain, particularly of medical doctors any longer. For if we can dispense with the services of some ninety doctors at a go, then the nation must certainly have achieved self-sufficiency in it need of medical doctors.