The President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, has acknowledged the detrimental impact of brain drain within the health sector on healthcare delivery in Ghana.She has urgently called for intervention to address this issue.

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Ofori-Ampofo explained that experienced nurses, who could have played a role in training newly-recruited nurses, are the ones leaving Ghana in search of improved working conditions elsewhere.She emphasized that nurses aspire for an environment that supports career advancement, further education, as well as better salaries and benefits. Consequently, they opt to travel abroad to pursue these opportunities.

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Speaking in an interview on Thursday, July 13, she said “Indeed, it is a worrying trend that we are all experiencing, our nurses are leaving the shores of Ghana and they are seeking to work in better work environments and earn better salaries and.“It is their right and we cannot stop them but the truth of the matter is that as much as they are leaving it is having a toll on health service delivery in Ghana.

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“The truth is those that are leaving are those that are well experienced, with many years of experience. Even if we are going to recruit new personnel these are the very people who would have trained them, so their leaving is a big issue.”She added “It is about time we really sit as stakeholders to discuss this matter thoroughly.

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From where we sit, we know that we cannot stop them because it is their right to migrate but it is about time we put in some innovation in terms of motivational packages that will really attract or help to retain them in the country.

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“There are some nurses who for various reasons will never leave Ghana but the majority are still nurturing the idea of leaving the shores of Ghana, it is all because they want to have better opportunities for career progression, they want to pursue some academic venture, looking for higher salaries or better conditions of service.”

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