The Ministry of Health has moved to clarify concerns surrounding the ongoing recruitment of health professionals, assuring the public that efforts are underway to address the growing backlog of unemployed health workers across the country.
In a press release issued by the Ministry, it acknowledged the anxiety generated by the recruitment exercise, noting that the sector currently faces an inherited backlog of more than 105,000 unemployed health professionals.
According to the statement, the recruitment process is being carried out within the limits of available financial clearance and national healthcare priorities, particularly under the government’s Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) Policy.
The Ministry explained that the last major recruitment exercises for various professional groups took place several years ago.
Nurses were last recruited in 2020, pharmacists and allied health professionals in 2019, while physician assistants were last recruited in 2018.
It stressed that government is unable to recruit all health professionals at the same time due to financial constraints but remains committed to creating opportunities for all categories in phases.
“The Ministry remains committed to creating recruitment opportunities for all categories of health professionals, as demonstrated in the current process,” the statement said.
The current financial clearance, according to the Ministry, covers the recruitment of approximately 8,000 health professionals and support staff nationwide.
The Ministry outlined the distribution of the available slots, indicating that nurses and midwives received the largest share with 6,500 positions.
Priority within this category was given to Nurse Assistant Preventive, Community Health Nurses, and Public Health Nurses to support preventive healthcare, home visits, and community-based services.
A total of 900 slots were allocated to allied health professionals, with emphasis on Laboratory Technicians and Health Information Officers to strengthen healthcare delivery at Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and polyclinics.
For pharmacy professionals, 250 positions were earmarked mainly for Pharmacy Technicians to improve pharmaceutical services at the primary healthcare level.
Additionally, 300 Physician Assistants who were recruited in 2024 but are yet to be mechanized onto the government payroll were prioritized under the current exercise.
The Ministry explained that the recruitment process was guided by staffing norms and annual human resource needs submitted by agencies including the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), Ahmadiyya Health Services, and the Mental Health Authority.
It further revealed that a Recruitment Committee made up of Human Resource Directors from the relevant agencies was engaged to determine allocations based on staffing gaps and healthcare demands across the regions.
“Regions with greater staffing gaps and healthcare needs received higher allocations,” the statement noted.
As part of efforts to improve transparency, the Ministry introduced a new online recruitment portal to support direct district-level recruitment.
It acknowledged feedback from applicants regarding challenges with the system and assured the public that concerns are being addressed to improve user experience.
The Ministry also admitted that the country still requires more healthcare personnel to improve access to quality healthcare nationwide and pledged to continue engaging the Ministry of Finance to secure additional financial clearance for future recruitment.
“The recruitment portal will be reopened whenever additional financial clearance is granted,” the statement added.
By 1960news.com
