The National Assistant Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association(GRNMA), Mr. Philemon Gyapong, has disclosed the rationale behind the exodus of some nurses from the county to work abroad.
According to Mr. Gyapong, the general health sector in almost every country accounts for approximately 70% of the country’s overall budget, with nurses playing a crucial role in addressing the health issues of citizens.
In an interview with Oman Nana, the host of Big FM’s Afternoon Political Show, stated that most nurses are leaving the country in order to improve their standard of living and seek better opportunities in the West.
When asked about the average salary for nurses in Ghana, he stated, “The salary depends on qualifications and ranges from at least GH¢2,000.00 to GH¢5,000.00”.
On the other hand, nurses from Ghana who travel abroad for work reasons receive approximately 2,500 and 1,600 pounds for full-time time and part-time positions, respectively.
In addition, Mr. Gyapong provided a statistical analysis of the total number of nurses who have sought clearance from the office since 2022 to officially permit them to leave for their preferred countries to work.
“Out of 9,000 nurses from Ghana, about 6,000 have been cleared and are currently working abroad”.
Mr. Philemon Gyapong suggested that the government should recognize the contributions of healthcare professionals and reward them accordingly.
“It is disheartening to work hard and still go unnoticed. Some of these nurses work in remote villages and slums, yet their salaries are undeniably low”, he added.
“If the government does not take proper care of them as expected, they will continue to leave Ghana for countries leave Ghana for countries such as Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom”, Mr. Gyapong concluded.
Despite the fact that numerous nurses are anxiously and hurriedly leaving the country for work abroad, causing a shortage in the nurse-patient ratio that is leading to deaths, there are still a number of graduated nurses who are at home, hoping to be assigned to a particular hospital for work.
Story written by Salome Kwaw.