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Deviant nurses will be exited from Upper East Region – Minister

Mr. Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, says the Region will not countenance unprofessional conduct exhibited by any nurse or midwife in its healthcare facilities.

Date Created : 10/26/2023 : Story Author : Godfred A. Polkuu/Ghanadistricts.com

He said nurses at the Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) of some hospitals paid less attention to critically ill patients rushed in for healthcare services.

“When patients are brought in critical conditions, some sit unconcerned and fidgeting with their phones. This, as we all know, could lead to preventable deaths," Mr. Yakubu said.

On how to identify nurses and midwives who displayed acts of unprofessionalism in healthcare facilities, the Minister said he would visit public healthcare facilities in disguise and fish out such nurses and midwives.

“I would like to use this opportunity to caution and inform health personnel that I would personally be monitoring health facilities and those found culpable would be shown the exit out of the Region,” he said.

Mr. Yakubu gave the caution when he addressed the ongoing 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Conference of Heads of Health Training Institutions (COHHETI) in Bolgatanga, the Regional capital.

The AGM is on the theme: “Quality assurance and accreditation in the training of healthcare professionals: The anchor for quality education.”

The Minister, a former Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, further advised nurses and midwives in the Region to be diligent and professional in handling patients.

He said the nurse-patient ratio in the Region was good, but indicated that “Our challenge has to do with the doctor-patient ratio which leaves much to be desired.”

Mr. Yakubu said the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) was, therefore, working with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to entice doctors to the Region.

Dr. Samuel Kwabena Boakye-Boateng, the Regional Director of the GHS, said Ghana’s Universal Health Coverage vision and goals could only be achieved via a resilient health system with the needed health workforce.

He said highly professional nurses, midwives, or allied professionals to boost quality healthcare would start from the Health Training Institutions, adding that the quality of training imparted on health trainees had a direct impact on the quality of care provided to patients.

Dr. Boakye-Boateng, who recently took over as the Regional Director of the GHS, also expressed concern about the high exodus of nurses and midwives from the country, describing it as a “cheat,” and insisted that the trend must be reversed.

“Definitely, some will go, but we cannot continue to train and they leave. I am quite worried about that. Our children must have special training outside the country, that I agree, but we cannot train nurses and leave without serving the country,” he said.