Dr. Koku Awoonor-Williams, Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, has reiterated his concern over the inadequate number of health personnel in the region, saying none of the 57 newly qualified Medical Doctors in the country chose posting to the Region. He said out of 19 doctors posted to the region over the past three years, only one reported. The current Doctor to Patient ratio is 1:34,000. Medical Assistants in the region are 28 instead of the required number of 92, and 12 out of the 28 are above 55 years of age. He noted that the region lacked many critical staff of all grades including Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists and Technicians. Each of the five district hospitals were manned by one Ghanaian doctor each with the help of the Cuban Medical Brigade. "There are 224 midwives for 147 health facilities, and 43 enrolled nurses, 41 of whom are above 50 years," he said, adding that 200 more professional nurses were needed to fill the district hospitals, while 70 per cent of those trained in the region refused to stay back and serve the area. Dr. Awoonor-Williams expressed these concerns at a three-day Health Sector Performance Review meeting underway in Bolgatanga on the theme, "Harnessing resources and expertise in health delivery to achieve the Millennium Development Goals". It is being organized by the Regional Health Directorate. He noted that poor and inadequate health infrastructure, including dilapidated health facilities and the lack of staff accommodation, were contributory factors that discouraged health personnel from working in the region. Dr. Awoonor-Williams said in order to improve efficiency and maximize output, the Regional Health Directorate, after a careful review of the human resource situation, embarked on a reshuffle and transfer of staff of all categories within the region. This, he said, was not accepted by some staff and explained that transfers were not punitive but were done without malice. The half-year review meeting is meant to give the health personnel an opportunity to take stock of their performance against set objectives and targets, and to identify the challenges they face. Source: GNA/Ghana