It was 2 p.m. on a sweltering December afternoon, and Emmanuel (not his real name), a nurse at the Upper East Regional Hospital, had yet to have his first proper break since arriving on shift the day before.
With weariness etched across his face, he paused briefly to speak, his frustration palpable. “It is difficult, to say the least,” he began, his voice carrying the weight of exhaustion and despair.
“If I had known this was how the workload was going to be, I would have advised myself. Since yesterday morning, I’ve been here at the unit. We are only two people managing a critical unit, and even finding time to eat lunch is a problem.”
Emmanuel’s lament is not isolated.
Across the Upper East Region’s healthcare facilities, an overwhelming staffing crisis is putting nurses, midwives, and doctors under immense strain.
Moses Apiah, our reporter, visited the Upper East Regional Hospital, War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo, Bongo Hospital, and Talensi District Hospital to witness firsthand the staggering human resource challenges these facilities face.
A Cry for Help
At the Emergency Unit of the Regional Hospital, another nurse, too fatigued to mask her indignation, remarked, “We are virtually working like slaves here. The big people know that staffing is a challenge, yet they are not doing anything. It is sickening.”
Many nurses, unwilling to go on record for fear of reprisal, echoed these sentiments. “We have sounded the alarm countless times, but nothing has been done,” one noted.
The regional health system operates on a perilous edge, with inadequate staffing creating a cascade of challenges: reduced quality of patient care, delayed treatments, compromised safety, and burnt-out staff. According to data from the Regional Health Directorate, the doctor-to-population ratio is a staggering 1:24,124, while the nurse-to-population ratio stands at 1:313—a glaring indicator of an overburdened system.
A Regional Crisis
The region’s 96 health facilities, comprising 20 hospitals, 67 health centers, and 224 CHPS compounds, serve a population that continues to grow. Yet, human resource capacity lags woefully behind.
In 2022 alone, 186 health professionals left the region without replacement, while all ten medical doctors posted to the region in 2021 failed to report for duty.
This exodus underscores systemic challenges that make rural postings unappealing to health professionals.
Struggles at the Regional Hospital
The Upper East Regional Hospital, the region’s flagship healthcare facility, has undergone expansion to include nine new clinical wards and units.
However, its workforce has not expanded to match. Nurses and midwives have decried the severe staffing shortages in the hospital’s 26 clinical wards, including critical areas such as the Main ICU, Dialysis Unit, and Pediatric Emergency.
For instance, the hospital’s main theatre, staffed by six surgical specialists, operates with only nine nurses. Comparatively, the Bongo District Hospital, which lacks a surgeon, has 17 nurses working in its theatre. The disparity is glaring and disheartening.
In a letter dated December 26, 2024, nurses and midwives expressed their concerns, noting that while 220 nurses were posted to the region this year, only nine were assigned to the Regional Hospital.
Shockingly, seven nurses were posted to a facility in Bolgatanga Municipality that has yet to open.
Burnout and Compromised Care
The psychological and physical toll on healthcare workers cannot be overstated. Burnout among nurses and midwives has become endemic.
“Safe, quality, and standard care depend significantly on adequate staffing,” one nurse explained. “But how do you ensure quality when one nurse is juggling responsibilities meant for five?”
Patients are the ultimate casualties of this crisis. Delayed treatments, hurried procedures, and compromised care are becoming the norm in a region that cannot afford such lapses.
A Call to Action
In March 2022, a committee was set up to investigate the staffing shortages at the Upper East Regional Hospital. Despite its findings highlighting a dire need for human resources, little action has been taken.
The hospital requires at least 200 additional Registered General Nurses to meet its current demands.
The staffing crisis in the Upper East Region underscores a larger systemic issue within Ghana’s healthcare system—a lack of foresight and equitable resource allocation.
For Emmanuel and his colleagues, the immediate priority is survival in the trenches of an overburdened system. But for the region’s leadership, the task is clear: bold, decisive action is needed to rectify the imbalance and restore dignity to the region’s healthcare delivery.
The question remains: Will those in power listen to the cries of their frontline heroes, or will the region’s healthcare system continue to crumble under the weight of its own neglect?
Source: A1 Radio Online | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
