Improving Doctor-Patient Ratio with Nursing Practitioner Training Programs

Ghana's Healthcare Crisis: Alleviating Doctor-to-Patient Ratio Deficit Through Nurse Empowerment

Ghana has faced a persistent healthcare challenge marked by a low doctor-to-patient ratio, as documented by the World Bank. The current ratio of 1:1000 has been deemed severe by the Ghana Medical and Dental Association. This disparity has far-reaching implications for Ghana's ailing healthcare system, as successive governments have struggled to effectively address this issue by constructing more health facilities and recruiting additional health workers.

The training of more medical professionals has been a recurring concern, given the dearth of teaching hospitals across the country. Governments have attempted to remedy this situation through the establishment of new medical schools, such as those at the University of Development Studies in Tamale and the University of Health and Allied Sciences at Ho. Despite efforts to increase the number of doctors, the rising population has prevented any substantial improvement in the country's doctor-to-patient ratio.

Doctors who are educated and trained in Ghana tend to avoid rural postings, leading to a concentration of medical professionals in urban areas like Accra and Kumasi. This geographical imbalance has resulted in significantly shorter life expectancies for those residing in rural areas.

Nurse shortages also pose a substantial challenge, with the current nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:18 signifying that one nurse is caring for approximately 18 patients at any given time. Given the dearth of doctors in many communities, this reality necessitates a discussion regarding the extent to which nurses should be empowered to serve not only urban and peri-urban areas but also Ghana's rural regions where the deficit of doctors is most pronounced. Many facilities in these areas have limited doctors, and a patient rushed to a medical facility may have to wait for hours for a doctor's arrival, increasing the risk of complications or worse.

In comparison, the United States of America has successfully implemented a national healthcare policy that has resulted in a significant number of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) who are trained to diagnose, write prescriptions, and perform certain medical procedures. Their training typically spans an average of two and a half years, which is approximately one-third of the total training period for medical doctors. This model can potentially be implemented in Ghana and augmented by the training of more Physician Assistants.

Recent partnerships between universities in Ghana and the USA, such as Aspire Business Network's collaboration with Valley View University and Andrews University, aim to introduce Doctorate in Nursing Practice programs in Ghana. These programs can specifically target motivated and committed nurses who are already working in rural and underserved communities.

Empowering nurses to perform additional medical duties can address the healthcare quality disparity between rural and urban communities and potentially reduce preventable deaths due to doctor unavailability in specific situations. Additionally, such a program could help correct the imbalance in nurse distribution throughout Ghana, incentivizing more nurses based in urban areas to move to rural areas.

The coronavirus pandemic has underscored the vulnerabilities in Ghana's healthcare system. By empowering nurses through expanded roles and responsibilities, Ghana can improve healthcare access in rural areas, positively contributing to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal No. 3, 'Good Health and Well-being.' The potential and opportunity for leveraging nurses as active agents in the advancement of Ghana's healthcare system are vast, and the positive impacts of this proposed initiative could significantly enhance the quality of healthcare accessible to every Ghanaian, regardless of their location within the country.

[[email protected]] is Aspire Business Network's designated contact person.

The persistent healthcare challenge in Ghana, characterized by a low doctor-to-patient ratio, calls for innovative solutions like empowering nurses.
Ghana's doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:1000 is considered severe by the Ghana Medical and Dental Association.
The healthcare system's struggle to effectively address the doctor-to-patient ratio issue has been ongoing, with efforts focused on building more health facilities and recruiting health workers.
The scarcity of teaching hospitals in Ghana makes the training of medical professionals a recurring concern.
Governments have attempted to resolve this issue by establishing new medical schools, such as those at the University of Development Studies and the University of Health and Allied Sciences.
Despite efforts to increase the number of doctors, Ghana's rising population has prevented any significant improvement in the doctor-to-patient ratio.
Urban areas like Accra and Kumasi have a concentration of medical professionals, while rural areas suffer from a deficit.
Rural areas have significantly shorter life expectancies due to the geographical imbalance of medical professionals.
Nurse shortages pose a substantial challenge, with one nurse caring for approximately 18 patients at any given time.
Given the dearth of doctors in many communities, a discussion regarding the empowerment of nurses is necessary for rural regions.
The United States of America has successfully implemented a national healthcare policy, resulting in a large number of Nurse Practitioners.
These NPs are trained to diagnose, write prescriptions, and perform certain medical procedures, with an average training period of approximately two and a half years.
The model of trained Nurse Practitioners can potentially be implemented in Ghana and complemented by the training of more Physician Assistants.
Recent partnerships between universities in Ghana and the USA aim to introduce Doctorate in Nursing Practice programs in Ghana.
These programs target motivated and committed nurses already working in rural and underserved communities.
Empowering nurses through expanded roles and responsibilities can help address the healthcare quality disparity between rural and urban communities.
This proposed initiative could potentially reduce preventable deaths due to doctor unavailability in specific situations.
Such a program could also help correct the imbalance in nurse distribution throughout Ghana.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities in Ghana's healthcare system.
Empowering nurses could improve healthcare access in rural areas, contributing to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal No. 3.
The potential for leveraging nurses as active agents in the advancement of Ghana's healthcare system is vast.
The positive impacts of this proposed initiative could significantly enhance the quality of healthcare accessible to every Ghanaian.
The proposed initative could help in achieving equal healthcare access regardless of location within the country.
This initiative could contribute to Ghana's industrial growth, with the finance, energy, aerospace, automotive, retail, and small-business sectors all playing a role.
The banking and insurance industry, fintech, real-estate, and venture capital could also provide funding and resources for the initiative.
The healthcare industry's focus on workplace-wellness, health-and-wellness, mental-health, men's-health, women's-health, and skin-care can also support the proposed initiative.
Policies regarding climate-change, environmental-science, healthcare reporting, and public-transit can be developed to support the initiative.
Leadership and entrepreneurship are essential for the successful implementation of the initiative.
Diversity-and-inclusion, autoimmune-disorders, chronic-diseases (including cancer, respiratory-conditions, and digestive-health issues), eye-health, hearing, neurological-disorders, and therapies-and-treatments should also be considered in the initiative.
The initiative could address issues related to aging, parenting, weight-management, cardiovascular-health, diabetes, and health education.