People in the Upper East region are not getting adequate healthcare. This is because doctors posted to the region have refused to go there and work. Eight doctors and other paramedics who have not reported to duty since the beginning of the year are being investigated for possible sanctions. Information available to Joy News suggests only 14 doctors are currently serving the entire region. Regional Director of Health Service, Dr. Awonoor-Williams said many district hospitals are without doctors as a result and the few ones in service virtually work 24 hours to save lives. "This year we had a letter posting eight doctors. Unfortunately none of them has reported as we speak now. The difficulty is that some of them we don’t even know where they are," he told Joy News. According to him, three out of the eight came to the region to ask for permission saying they will be coming back later but have since not returned. He said the situation is impacting negatively on health delivery in the region. “As I speak to you now almost all our district hospitals there is one doctor,” he said, adding the situation has been complicated by the national health insurance policy. Dr. Awonoor-Williams is yet to understand why his colleagues are behaving like that. Meanwhile, the Ghana Medical Association President Kwabena Opoku Adusei told Joy News the Association is not to blame of the phenomenon. He explained the Association does not distribute doctors to the various regions saying the sector Ministry, the Ghana Health Council, the Ghana Health Council are better placed to answer questions about distribution of doctors. He said the Association only plays advocacy roles but does not take key decisions about where doctors are posted. Dr Opoku Adusei said the government must provide extra incentives to encourage doctors to go there.