Korle Bu seeks more doctors, nurses to ease pressure on 64-bed emergency centre
Management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has appealed to the government to recruit additional doctors and nurses to tackle persistent staff shortages and ease congestion at its Accident and Emergency (A&E) Centre.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Yakubu Seidu Adam, said recruiting more permanent medical personnel was essential to improving emergency care and strengthening services at Ghana’s leading referral facility.
Speaking during an engagement with Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Adam revealed that the hospital’s 64-bed Accident and Emergency Centre was struggling to accommodate the increasing number of accident victims and other emergency cases referred from across the country.
He explained that the shortage of permanent medical personnel was placing considerable pressure on critical departments, particularly the A&E Centre and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Although the hospital has a substantial number of doctors, Dr Adam said many were medical trainees who leave after completing their training, creating challenges in maintaining adequate staffing levels.
“This is a training institution. We have a number of doctors, but when we look at our numbers, most of them are not our staff. It’s a training institution; they come, we train them, and they go,” he said.
He stressed the need to recruit more medical officers who could provide consistent support for emergency and intensive care services instead of relying heavily on doctors undergoing training.
Dr Adam disclosed that management had already raised the staffing concerns with the hospital’s Director of Human Resources and the Minister of Health. However, the meeting with Parliament’s Health Committee offered another opportunity to highlight the urgent need for additional personnel.
He also called for the recruitment of more nurses to support existing staff and ensure patients receive timely and effective treatment.
The appeal comes amid growing pressure on the hospital’s emergency services due to the high volume of cases it receives from different parts of the country.
In addition to seeking more doctors and nurses, management has proposed the construction of a new facility to reduce congestion and expand the hospital’s capacity to handle emergency cases.
The proposed infrastructure and recruitment measures are expected to strengthen emergency care delivery at the country’s premier referral hospital.
By Esther Padmore Amonoo
