The leadership of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has made a formal request for an increased complement of medical doctors and nursing staff to enhance the quality of healthcare services, citing critical personnel deficiencies and escalating demands on its Accident and Emergency Centre.
Dr. Yakubu Seidu Adam, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, emphasized that the institution requires supplementary medical professionals to work alongside the doctors and nurses currently enrolled in training programmes at this nation’s foremost referral medical facility.
During a presentation to members of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Adam revealed that the hospital’s 64-bed Accident and Emergency Centre operates beyond its intended capacity due to the substantial volume of trauma patients and emergency cases transferred from throughout the country on a daily basis.
He noted that the inadequacy of permanent medical personnel is constraining the hospital’s capacity to provide sufficient support to essential departments, particularly the Accident and Emergency Centre and the Intensive Care Unit.
Dr. Adam elaborated that whilst Korle Bu maintains a substantial physician workforce, the majority of these professionals are trainees who depart upon completion of their educational programmes, thereby necessitating the recruitment of additional permanent medical staff.
“This institution functions as a training centre. Although we employ a considerable number of doctors, upon examination of our staffing composition, the majority are not permanent employees. As a training institution, individuals arrive, receive instruction, and subsequently depart,” he stated.
He underscored that the hospital must establish its own cadre of medical officers to reinforce the provision of emergency and critical care services.
Dr. Adam indicated that institutional management had previously communicated these staffing difficulties to the hospital’s Director of Human Resources and the Minister of Health, yet utilized this parliamentary forum to reiterate the request for additional staff members.
He additionally appealed for an expanded nursing workforce to assist physicians in delivering prompt and high-quality patient care.
The hospital’s position reflects broader concerns regarding the enhancement of emergency care facilities, with institutional leadership also recommending the development of a modern facility to alleviate the strain on the current Accident and Emergency Centre.
