Chief Executive Officer of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), Dr. Abdul-Samed Tanko, has cited remuneration as a major reason some Ghanaian medical specialists are leaving the country to pursue opportunities abroad.
He said Ghana must create an environment where medical professionals are adequately paid if the country hopes to retain specialists and encourage those working overseas to return home.
“I think we should be worried, and it’s because of the remuneration,” Dr. Tanko said when asked about the movement of health specialists out of the country.
Although he returned to Ghana after completing his training, Dr. Tanko noted that other medical professionals who had undergone similar experiences had been unable to return.
“I went under government scholarship, and my fellowship too was sponsored by government, and I had to return also. But there are people like me who also have similar situations but were not able to return,” he said.
He acknowledged Ghana’s economic challenges but stressed the need for better remuneration to attract and retain qualified medical professionals.
“We need to create the grounds to be able to remunerate people, to get people their due. It’s difficult. Our economy is not the best economy,” he told Joy News in an interview.
Despite the challenges, Dr. Tanko said he was planning to engage Ghanaian doctors in the United Kingdom in a bid to persuade some to return and practise in Ghana. He highlighted specialists in fields such as cardiology, neurology and neurosurgery as particularly important to the country’s healthcare needs.
“I’ll be going to the UK because we have the Ghana Doctors and Dental Association of the UK. Some would like to return to come and practise in the country, and I’m trying to woo them,” he said.
