Health Minister Gives Newly Posted Doctors One Week to Report or Face Action
Minister warns non-compliant doctors will face validation after one-week extension
- Seven out of ten newly posted doctors have not reported
- Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has granted an additional week for doctors to report before validation measures are taken
- Government and local authorities are providing support and incentives to encourage compliance
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has granted newly posted medical doctors an additional week to report to their duty stations, following what he described as a troubling nationwide reluctance to take up postings.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Tuesday, December 2, the Minister revealed that seven out of every ten newly assigned doctors have not reported, with the situation most severe in the Upper West and Upper East regions, where no doctors had reported as of Friday, November 28. In the Upper West Region alone, 25 of 32 posted doctors are yet to assume duty, a gap that threatens healthcare delivery for nearly one million residents.
“We will give them an additional week to appeal to them to report to their respective facilities. After that, we will carry out validation,” Mr. Akandoh said, emphasizing that postings will not be changed under any circumstances.
The Minister noted that the Ministry of Health is collaborating with local authorities, including regional ministers, MPs, DCEs, and traditional leaders, to make the districts more accommodating for doctors. Incentives to encourage compliance are also being considered.
Mr. Akandoh expressed confidence that the doctors would eventually report, describing them as “wonderful medical doctors” ready to respond to the call, while highlighting the uneven distribution of doctors nationwide, with nearly half concentrated in the Greater Accra Region.
Regional health directors have already begun contacting the doctors through calls and electronic messages, and stakeholder engagements are ongoing to secure accommodation and other support to ease their transition.
