The government is retooling hospitals across the country with medical equipment worth GH¢500 million, as part of efforts to improve the capacity of health facilities to deliver quality healthcare.
Minister of Health Hon. Kwabena Mintah also disclosed that thousands of new recruitment slots have been created for nurses, midwives and other health professionals, and warned that the number of nursing students admitted each year far exceeds the number the state can employ.
Hon. Mintah spoke at a health sector updates engagement, where he said the recruitment drive is tied to the government’s free primary healthcare policy, which requires enough health professionals to deliver.
Hon. Mintah said the government is strengthening health facilities by supplying hospitals with modern medical equipment valued at GH¢500 million. The investment is meant to improve the capacity of facilities nationwide to provide quality care.
He did not say which hospitals will receive the equipment, what types of equipment are involved or when delivery will be completed.
Thousands of slots have been opened.
On staffing, the Minister said about 900 slots were allocated to one category of health workers, while nurses and midwives were given about 6,500 slots. He did not specify the category that received the 900 slots.
“You must have enough health professionals to be able to execute government policy, and free primary healthcare is a priority area.”
Minister of Health Hon. Kwabena Mintah
The Minister said the policy cannot succeed without the people to deliver it, and that recruitment has been guided by that priority.
Physician assistants are retained
Mr Mintah also explained how the allocation for physician assistants was decided. He said 300 positions were set aside for them.
While preparing to recruit, the ministry realised that a World Bank programme had been employing about 250 physician assistants, and that the programme ended in 2025. Those workers were due to be laid off.
According to the Minister, it made little sense to dismiss 250 trained staff and then recruit new ones. The ministry therefore retained the 250 and added 50 more, bringing the total to 300.
Training outpaces employment
The Minister then raised what he described as a controversial issue, noting that his directors had advised him against discussing it. He said he chose to speak on it anyway.
He said government-sponsored nursing training institutions admit more than 35,000 students annually. He cited a figure of about 40,000 for the previous year at one point, and also referred to admissions of more than 20,000 in a single year. These figures were not consistent in his remarks, and the exact number could not be confirmed.
Meanwhile, he said, the country is unable to recruit more than 10,000 to 15,000 graduates each year, a gap, he warned, will keep widening, which if we are not very careful, you will leave more than you came to meet, so the backlog can only increase.
The admissions valve must be checked
Mr Mintah said the solution is to control the intake of students. He argued that the country must regulate the number admitted into training, since producing graduates who cannot find work serves no purpose.
“What’s the point if the person has been trained and is unemployed?”
Minister of Health Hon. Kwabena Mintah
His comments point to a long-running concern over unemployed nurses and midwives, many of whom complete their training and wait years for postings. The Minister did not announce a specific cap on admissions or name the agency that would enforce one.
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