District Health Directors and ECG Hospital Demand Urgent Welfare and Staffing Interventions

The District Directors of Health Services Group (DDHS-G) in Ghana have issued a strong appeal to the government to address long-standing grievances regarding their conditions of service. Speaking at the group’s Annual General Conference in Bolgatanga, National Chairman Dr. Justice Thomas Sevugu highlighted a significant gap in welfare negotiations, noting that there have been no meaningful discussions on salary adjustments since the introduction of the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2010. Despite their pivotal role in translating national health policies into community-level interventions, health directors currently lack a formal mechanism to facilitate discussions on their working conditions, leaving them and other technical executive groups excluded from critical welfare decisions.

In the absence of a formal government framework, DDHS-G members have taken internal steps to support their peers. Dr. Sevugu revealed that the group has demonstrated its commitment to staff welfare through significant financial contributions, including over GH¢680,000 provided to retirees and GH¢150,000 distributed to colleagues affected by various disasters over the past year. While these initiatives underscore the solidarity within the group, Dr. Sevugu emphasized that internal contributions are no substitute for a structured, government-led negotiation process, which is essential for maintaining a motivated and effective healthcare leadership.

Simultaneously, the Evangelical Church of Ghana (ECG) Hospital in Dambai is facing a parallel crisis regarding frontline staffing and financial sustainability. Dr. Sonlaar Joseph, the Medical Superintendent of the facility, has appealed to the Oti Regional Directorate of Health Services to second health professionals from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to the hospital. Currently, more than 50% of the hospital’s workforce is funded through internally generated funds (IGF), creating an unsustainable financial burden that threatens the facility’s ability to maintain high-quality healthcare for the local population.

Dr. Joseph urged for the creation of placement opportunities for existing IGF-funded staff to transition into the mainstream GHS payroll, which would significantly reduce the hospital's wage bill. In response, the Oti Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Kofi Amo-Kodieh, acknowledged the vital role the ECG Hospital plays in the region and emphasized the importance of collaboration and improved data management. These combined pleas from health leadership and frontline facilities highlight a growing need for the Ministry of Health to prioritize both administrative welfare and operational staffing to ensure the long-term stability of Ghana’s healthcare delivery system.