Pay Health Professionals Posted To Villages More – Gov’t Told

The Chairman of the Ninth Board of the Medical and Dental Council, Professor Paul Kwame Nyame wants the government to pay health practitioners posted to rural areas more.

According to him the move could more health professionals to take up postings in deprived areas.

“There is no place where there is no compensation for people who are going to disadvantaged areas. And in this context, the rural areas are disadvantaged. So we the people of Ghana must be prepared to pay them a little more, make it a little more attractive for them to go there. You shouldn't pay someone working in Accra the same as someone going to rural areas. It is totally wrong; they should be given something extra,” he insisted.

Professor Nyame made the remark at the induction ceremony for some 178 newly qualified medical and dental practitioners.

“If you live in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale or Takoradi for quite a bit of time, what you describe as rural is not the most attractive, so it is a challenge for going to the place in the first place. But experience shows that as soon as they get there and work for a couple of years, they get used to the place that they don't even wish to leave. So I will encourage new doctors to give it a short.

He also called on the government to clear ghost names from the list of health professionals and workers to save the public purse.

Ghana currently has a doctor-patient ration of one doctor to 8000 patients.

President Akufo-Addo had earlier expressed concern over the ration.

He said the situation is even more lopsided in the rural and deprived communities, stating that there must be urgent steps taken to reverse the situation in the shortest possible time.