Sack non-performing nursing trainees – GHS UER Director

Dr Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has called on the management of health training institutions in the region to sack non-performing nursing trainees to cleanse the health system of poorly trained nurses and midwives.

He said the situation, where students were pushed through the system even though they could not pass their semester examinations was unacceptable, and insisted that any nurse or midwife trainee who could not make the required pass mark, must not be considered.

Addressing nurses and midwives at the regional launch of the International Nurses Day celebration in Navrongo, Dr Dzotsi said human life was precious and must not be entrusted in the hands of people who were not serious during their training, but found their way out as nurses and midwives.

He observed that during clinical sessions, where nursing and midwifery trainees visited various hospitals to gain practical experience, some trainees absented themselves.

“So, if they don’t visit the hospitals, how can they gain practical experience,” Dr Dzotsi asked, and said, “we need quality and well-trained nurses and midwives to care for the sick in this Region.

“We cannot compromise on quality.”

Dr Dzotsi described as alarming the rate at which health professionals in the region, especially nurses in uniform rode motorbikes without crash helmets and cautioned them to desist from such acts.

He disclosed that the GHS in the Region lost four nurses to motorbike accidents who probably could have survived if they had crash helmets on.

“We need you alive to care for patients in the hospitals so try to stay safe on the road and always put on crash helmets,” the Director advised.

Touching on the desire of nurses and midwives seeking postings outside the region, the director said about 90 per cent of them want to leave.

“If you all leave, who will work, Please, I want to appeal to you to stay so we can improve the system,” he appealed.

He called on the government and other stakeholders to invest in healthcare delivery in the Region, and said nurses and midwives who agreed to work in rural areas of the Region would be qualified for study leave with pay after two years of service.

Mr Thomas Lambon, the Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) appealed to the Regional Health Directorate to liaise with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to address issues of unavailability of bio-data of GRNMA members on the electronic pay slip platform.

“We also take this opportunity to make a passionate appeal to the people of Bawku to give peace a chance so that health care delivery can return to normalcy,” the GRNMA Chairman said.

The launch, organised by the regional leadership of the GRNMA was specially observed around the world on May 12, every year, to mark the birth day of Florence Nightingale, the “Mother of Nursing.”

The celebration brought together nurses and midwives across the Region including retirees of the profession to celebrate the birth, and acknowledge the contributions of Florence Nightingale, regarded as Mother of Nursing.

The celebration was on the theme “Nurses and Midwives, a Voice to Lead: Invest in Nursing and Respect the Nurses and Midwives’ Rights to Secure Global Health.”