Close to 300 highly skilled and specialised health workers have left the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital between January and June 2025 in search of better opportunities abroad, in what hospital officials describe as an alarming attrition rate threatening healthcare delivery.

Deputy Medical Director of Korle Bu, Dr. Harry Akoto, revealed the figures during a needs assessment visit by the administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as Mahama Cares, ahead of the initiative’s nationwide rollout to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

“Our data show that about 300 people have left between January and June this year, and these are highly skilled, highly specialised professionals — not fresh graduates. The reasons are multifactorial, but the bigger chunk is remuneration. People feel they can earn more elsewhere,” Dr. Akoto told JoyNews' Maxwell Agbagba.

He warned that unless urgent steps are taken to improve working conditions, remuneration, and training for nurses and doctors, the country risks losing its most experienced health professionals to more developed nations.

“We need to ramp up the training of more nurses so we always have enough to take care of ourselves. But we must also improve the environment in which they work. Otherwise, we are fighting a battle we cannot win. I call this the galamsey of healthcare because it is threatening our survival — you can have beautiful buildings, but if there is nobody there to work, patients will still be lost,” he stressed.

Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, Obuobia Darko-Opoku, explained that the visit to Korle Bu is part of a nationwide needs assessment to identify equipment gaps, infrastructure challenges, and service delivery weaknesses before the rollout of Mahama Cares.

“Mahama Cares cannot operate without engaging facilities like Korle Bu because they are the key stakeholders. We need to know what they have, what needs replacement, and what needs urgent attention. The tour has opened our eyes to the realities here, and we are confident that once we get the reports from the departments and act on them, we will make a real difference,” she said.

Madam Obuobia added that the initiative will focus not only on patient support but also on prevention and equipment replacement to strengthen Ghana’s capacity to manage NCDs.

Director of Medical Affairs at Korle Bu, Dr. Frank Owusu Sekyere, described the Mahama Cares initiative as timely and crucial for easing the pressure on Ghana’s premier teaching hospital.

“The visit has been very good. It is easy to sit somewhere and assume what the needs are, but this tour has helped to identify the real gaps — from equipment to human resources. Korle Bu carries a heavy national burden, so this support will go a long way to help us deliver better care,” he said.

Dr. Sekyere noted that Korle Bu loses ICU nurses almost every month and welcomed Mahama Cares’ focus on training, which he said could help plug the human resource gap.

“Health is a shared responsibility, and if Mahama Cares is coming to share that responsibility, that is welcome news. We are definitely looking forward to the takeoff of this project,” he added.