Prioritise recruitment of Doctors – Garu MP. Dr. Thomas Anaba, the Member of Parliament for Garu and former Chief Executive Officer of Ridge Hospital, has urged the Ghanaian government to take immediate and strategic steps to address the country’s severe shortage of medical doctors. He emphasized that the issue requires urgent attention and must be a key priority in the government’s upcoming budget planning cycles.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News on Thursday, July 24, 2025, Dr. Anaba expressed deep concern about the growing gap in doctor-to-patient ratios in Ghana, calling the current situation “alarming.” According to him, while the nation has made commendable progress in increasing the number of nurses within the healthcare system, the availability of medical doctors has not kept pace, creating a serious imbalance in the delivery of healthcare services.
The legislator pointed out that the country’s healthcare system is under strain due to the disproportionate number of nurses compared to doctors. “We are doing well in terms of the nurse-to-patient ratio, but when you look at the doctor-to-patient ratio, it is far below international standards and poses a major challenge,” Dr. Anaba stated.
He argued that the imbalance could undermine the efficiency and effectiveness of medical care, as nurses often rely on doctors for supervision, prescriptions, and clinical decision-making. Without enough doctors, the healthcare system may falter in its ability to provide timely and quality medical interventions. “If we don’t take steps now to train and employ more doctors, we will have a system where nurses are available but have limited capacity to act independently or effectively due to the absence of supervising physicians,” he cautioned.
Dr. Anaba called on the government to ensure that the national budget reflects a commitment to expanding the medical workforce. He emphasized that this commitment should not only focus on recruitment but also include investments in infrastructure that supports medical education. According to him, expanding facilities at existing medical schools, increasing admissions, and establishing new medical institutions would go a long way toward ensuring a steady pipeline of qualified doctors in the future.
Prioritise recruitment of Doctors
He further noted that the issue of retention must also be tackled. Ghana has experienced a steady outflow of trained healthcare professionals to other countries in search of better working conditions and remuneration. Dr. Anaba suggested that the government implement attractive retention strategies, including competitive salaries, favorable working environments, and professional development opportunities to keep doctors within the country.
In his remarks, Dr. Anaba revealed that Ghana currently employs only about one-third of the medical doctors it actually needs to provide adequate healthcare to its population. More troubling, he noted, is that many trained doctors remain unemployed, a situation he described as both wasteful and avoidable. “We are not even making use of the doctors we have trained. There are many who are sitting at home, unemployed, despite our desperate need for more medical professionals,” he lamented.
He stressed that employing these doctors would immediately help improve the country’s dismal doctor-to-patient ratio and strengthen healthcare delivery systems, especially in rural and underserved areas. “If the government can commit the necessary funds to employ these available doctors, we can make significant progress in improving public health outcomes,” he added.
Dr. Anaba’s call comes at a time when healthcare delivery in Ghana faces multiple challenges, including overcrowded hospitals, long patient wait times, and limited access to specialized care in many regions. Experts have long warned that unless the country adopts a more holistic and well-funded approach to healthcare staffing and infrastructure, these problems will only worsen.
In conclusion, the MP for Garu is urging swift and focused governmental action, not just to fill vacancies, but to build a resilient and balanced healthcare system capable of meeting the needs of Ghanaians today and into the future.
Source: citinewsroom
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