Nadowli-Kaleo youth and GHS tussle over gynaecologist transfer

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Upper West and a Coalition of youth groups in Nadowli-Kaleo District are in standoff over the transfer of a gynaecologist from the Nadowli District Hospital.

The youth coalition is protesting the transfer of gynaecologist Ibrahim Muslim, and demanding the decision is reversed.

The regional health directorate, however, says the transfer is justified and that this is to ensure equitable distribution of doctors in the region.

Mr Ankaara John Bosco Spokesperson of the youth, said in a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Wa, said “while we acknowledge that transfers are normal administrative procedures for every organization, we think that dealing with a specialist requires a more careful approach”.

He added that the region lacked health specialists, especially gynaecologists, and that the transferred gynaecologist was rendering vital services to Nadowli-Kaleo, Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, Jirapa, Lawra, Nandom and Lambussie.

“Even some of the cases from Wa Municipal come to the Nadowli District Hospital gynaecologist for treatment and care.”

He claimed the District Hospital sponsored the training of Dr Muslim and therefore he was required to serve the district for some time.

When contacted, Dr Abdulai Abukari, the Regional Director of Health, confirmed both the transfer of Dr Muslim and the fact that he was sponsored by the Nadowli-Kaleo Hospital.

He said it was also the case that the same gynaecologist was sponsored by the Wa Municipal Assembly to pursue surgery degree programme.

The region lacked doctors and so there was the need to equitably distribute the few that were available to the various facilities to ensure equity.

“If you are a father and you have food and that food is not enough for the children, the best thing to do is distribute it among them and not to give to some and leave others.”

As of September 01, this year, Upper West had 33 Doctors at post, but seven of them had now left to pursue further studies.

Wa Municipality has 11 doctors with nine of them in the regional hospital.

Nadowli had four – the gynaecologist, a medical superintendent together with two others, while Jirapa also had four, Lawra, five, Nandom five, Lambusia five, Sisala West, one, Tumu, two, and Jirapa Polyclinic, one.

“The one at Tumu is doing a distance programme and looking at the distance from Tumu to Wa, and the bad road network, we need someone to attend to the maternal cases over there and the best thing to do is to send a gynaecologist to that area and that is exactly what we have done,” he said.

“We are working to get adequate doctors to redistribute them to the various districts but I cannot give time lines,” he said.

“We are in talks with specialists who have expressed interest to join but I think it would take some time”.

Source: GNA

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