Government gives newly posted doctors a one-week grace period to report to their posts
The Health Minister has extended the reporting deadline for newly posted doctors by one week after a majority failed to assume their duty posts, particularly in the Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has given newly posted doctors an extra week. This is due to many refusing to take their jobs, especially in the northern areas of the country.
According to the Minister, initial reporting figures were “not encouraging,” with seven out of every ten newly assigned doctors failing to show up at their designated facilities.
The situation is most critical in the Upper East and Upper West Regions, where not a single doctor had reported as of Friday, November 28. In the Upper West Region alone, 25 out of 32 doctors had failed to report, a development the Minister warned could endanger healthcare delivery for nearly one million people who depend on medical services in the area.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Tuesday, December 2, Mr. Akandoh urged the doctors to honour their postings, stressing that the Ministry had no intention of altering the assigned locations.
“We will give them an additional week to appeal to them to report to their various facilities where they have been posted. After that, we will do what we call validation,” he stated.
The Minister explained that the Ministry is engaging local authorities—regional ministers, MPs, DCEs and traditional leaders—to help make the receiving districts more accommodating for the newly posted doctors. He added that the government is considering incentive packages to encourage compliance.
Despite the low turnout, Mr. Akandoh remains optimistic that the doctors will eventually report, describing them as “wonderful medical doctors” who will respond to national service needs.
He also highlighted the imbalance in doctor distribution across the country, revealing that almost half of Ghana’s medical workforce is stationed in the Greater Accra Region—a situation the government is seeking to correct.
Regional health directors have reportedly begun reaching out to the doctors through phone calls and electronic messages, while the Ministry continues to work with stakeholders to secure accommodation and other support systems to ease their transition.
Also read: https://thebreakingdesk.com/ghana-recruits-13500-nurses-midwives-salaries/
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