Employ backlog of idling qualified Physician Assistants - Association appeals to government

The Ghana Physician Assistants Association (GPAA) has appealed to government to employ the backlog of qualified practitioners currently idling at home. 

The President of the GPAA, Peter Akudugu Ayamba, said there were currently 4,000 qualified Physician Assistants (PAs) sitting at home, awaiting recruitment and deployment. 
Most of them have been at home for the past four years.

“This distressing situation is due to delays in financial clearance from the government,” Mr Ayamba said at the 21st Annual General Conference of the Ghana GPAA which ended in Ho last Saturday.

The four-day event was on the theme: “Leveraging on the networks of practice implementation to accelerate the attainment of universal health coverage – Resource constraints at the sub-district level under the microscope.”

It was attended by about 200 physician assistants from across the country.

The conference provided a platform for all physician assistants to deliberate on a wide range of issues affecting the health of the population, assess current policy issues in the healthcare system nationally and globally, and their impact on the overall health outcomes of the citizenry, especially those in deprived communities.

The President of the GPAA revealed that many physician assistants operated in under-resourced facilities with outdated and inadequate medical supplies, and that seriously affected the expected service delivery.

He said, meanwhile, the unemployment of newly qualified physician assistants remained one of the most frustrating issues facing the profession.

“Whereas countless health centres exist without physician assistants, huge numbers of qualified physician assistants are still at home,” Mr Ayamba complained.

Further, Mr Ayamba said, although numerous financial clearances had been given to other healthcare cadres over the past four years, physician assistants had been sidelined in all financial clearances “as if we do not matter in the health system”.

The participants

He pointed out that the attainment of UHC invariably required physician assistants to be well-resourced for their duties.

Mr Ayamba cited the Network of Practice (NoP), which, he said, was a critical model for collaborative and integrated healthcare, saying it could only succeed if the inherent systematic challenges were addressed.

“So far, there was little deliberate policy formulation and implementation to build the capacities, and to resource the physician assistants to function effectively at the primary healthcare level, the fulcrum and vehicle for the attainment of UHC,” he said.

Mr Ayamba said the role of physician assistants was crucial in achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in Ghana.

At the primary and sub-district level, for instance, he said physician assistants served as the backbone of healthcare delivery, often working in remote areas where other medical professionals might not be present.

“Through our dedication, we provide essential services to the underserved populations, bridging the gap in healthcare accessibility,” Mr Ayamba added.

Critical role

The Chief Director of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), Augustus Awity, acknowledged the crucial role of physician assistants in healthcare service delivery, and gave the assurance that the VRCC would continue to work with all relevant agencies and support physician assistants in various ways to ensure quality health delivery to the people.

The Regional Deputy Director of Health in charge of public health, Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, said achieving UHC in deprived communities required innovative approaches to healthcare delivery.

Leveraging on NoP implementation, he said, was an effective way to address resource limitations at the sub-district level, adding that it would promote collaboration and build resilience among healthcare facilities.