This 10,000, I do not know where it is coming from – Akim Oda MP challenges Akandoh’s of 10k nurse recruitment

Member of Parliament for Akim Oda, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has cast doubt on the Health Minister’s claim that over 10,000 nurses and midwives have been employed in the past six months.

His comments come shortly after Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh announced, during the Government’s Accountability Series on Friday, July 18, that 10,000 nurses had been successfully absorbed into the system.

In an exclusive interview on the Channel One Newsroom on Friday, July 18, Mr. Akwasi Acquah, who also serves on Parliament’s Health Committee, questioned the basis of the Minister’s figures.

According to him, neither he nor other members of the Health Committee had been informed of any mass recruitment, raising concerns about transparency.

“This 10,000, I do not know where it is coming from. If the government has really employed about 10,000 nurses, the thing we need to look out for is which batch of nurses. Which batch of nurses? Is it 2021 or 2022? We already know we have a backlog of nurses, and we have worked out up to about 2020 group.

“So it the Minister is talking about 2021, as a Health Committee Member, none of us were aware. None of us heard it. It hasn’t been made public. We don’t know what batch of nurses the minister is talking about, but I am highly suspicious that it could be the continuation of what we started that they have come to continue,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, during the Government’s Accountability Series earlier on Friday, July 1,8, also disclosed that 1,621 qualified pharmacists awaiting permanent employment have been prioritised for recruitment.