The Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) has raised concern over the growing migration of specialist nurses and midwives, warning that it threatens efforts to build a strong and self-sustaining healthcare workforce.

The concern comes even as the College marks a major milestone with the induction of its first batch of fellows by examination.

Speaking to the media, Rector of the College, Dr Mrs. Gloria Achempim-Ansong, said that although the institution has made significant progress in training specialists, many of them are leaving the country.

“We have trained a lot of nurses… who are doing exploits in the country. But unfortunately, a lot of them have also travelled to the Western countries to seek greener pastures,” she said.

Dr Achempim-Ansong explained that the College, established under the Specialist Health Training and Implant Medicine Research Act, began formal training in 2015 with just 30 residents and eight faculties.

“We started about 13 years ago… and formal training began in 2015,” she said.

Today, the College has expanded to over 1,400 residents, with 22 faculties and multiple programmes across nursing, midwifery, public health and mental health.

Despite this growth, she warned that retaining trained specialists remains a major challenge.

Beyond migration, the Rector pointed to serious infrastructure deficits affecting training.

“We don’t have a permanent place to boast of as our office,” she said, noting that the College currently operates from a temporary facility.

She also highlighted the lack of a simulation centre for practical training.

“That is where residents meet and do some practicals before they go and practise on actual patients,” she explained.

According to her, such facilities are critical for producing competent specialists.

Dr Achempim-Ansong further revealed that many trainees struggle to afford specialist education.

“Specialist education is expensive… and many of our residents struggle to afford it,” she said.

While acknowledging government support, including plans to sponsor some trainees through the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, she said more needs to be done.

“They want to sponsor about 100 membership residents… but we are asking for more,” she added.

She called on both government and private sector organisations to support training and infrastructure development.

President of GCNM, Prof Mrs Victoria Bam, also acknowledged the significance of inducting fellows by examination, but said that the broader challenge is scaling up numbers.

“Today is a historic milestone… this is the first time we are graduating and inducting our fellows by examination,” she said.

She explained that fellows represent the highest level of specialist training and are essential for teaching future specialists.

“For you to teach in the specialist programme… the minimum qualification is that you should be a fellow,” she noted.

However, she said that the number of specialists remains too low to meet national demand.

“The numbers are few… and to increase those numbers we need investments,” she said.

Prof Bam warned that without increased investment, access to specialist healthcare will remain uneven across the country.

“Our aim is to ensure that everybody anywhere in Ghana should have easy access to specialist services,” she said.

“But if we do not have enough numbers, you cannot deploy them to the remotest areas.”

She therefore made an appeal to the government and development partners to support the College’s work.

“We would want to make this passionate appeal… to expand access to specialist education and services in Ghana,” she said.