The health of Ghanaians is compromised for cheap labor.

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nurses
nurses

It is very shocking after the MOH/GHS claimed of limited number of registered nurses in Ghana, and for that matter putting in place measures to prevent nurses from leaving the country to seek employment in the western world; they turn to have no regard for our nurses who have graduated from our universities (4 years of training) and have
attained licenses from the NMC as registered general nurses who are legible professionally to work in Ghana. However, nurses who are trained in our nursing training institutions are automatically absorbed by the MOH/GHS to work in our hospitals after their 3 ?year?training.

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The ministry has succeeded in bringing on board health assistants who are trained for two years purposely to assist health workers especially the nurses. They have made the NMC conduct exams for them after their two-year- training and grant them certificate to practice as lowest grade of nurses in Ghana with the name enrolled nurses. This
is a brilliant initiative from the ministry and NMC. However, what do we see after this group of nurses comes on board? The NMC have job description for these nurses which are clearly defined in their training curriculum – which is mainly assisting registered nurses and midwifes and carrying out simple nursing procedures like making beds,
feeding and cleaning patients among other procedures which do not needs supervision from registered nurses. Now, because of the limited number of registered nurses in our hospitals, these enrolled nurses have no choice than to abandon their work and assumed the work of the registered nurses. So therefore, patient relatives will have to do
most of the work that is supposed to be done by the enrolled nurses. The question here is, do these enrolled nurses have the need theoretical knowledge behind the things they do?

The GHS has made it clear that they don?t need registered graduate nurses- they employ registered nurses from their nursing training colleges and the enrolled nurses as well but has refused to employ graduate nurses for the past three to four years. Now, my question for the GHS is that are these registered graduate nurses not Ghanaians? Or
they are foreigners?

The GHS has succeeded in using enrolled nurses in place of the registered nurses who our in limited number in our hospitals because they have refused to employ them. The GHS thinks they can use the salary of one graduate nurse to pay two enrolled nurses and for that matter has taken advantage of that at the detriment of good and
standard healthcare of Ghanaians. In other words, they have compromised the health of Ghanaians for cheap labor putting the health of innocent Ghanaian at risk. The MOH/GHS knows better than what they are trying to do, because they are health oriented people who know very well that in the medical field the mere fact that one can
observes and knows a procedure does not necessarily gives the person the needed knowledge to practice any medical procedure without the necessary theoretical background.

Now, my problem with the nurses and midwifery council (NMC) is that, it is the only body mandated by the constitution of Ghana to give respective license to trained nurses of all disciplines, depending on their qualification and their work description as clearly spelt out in their training curriculum developed by this some body. They are also mandated to improve and maintain standards of nursing in Ghana by seeing to it that only certified nurses with defined qualifications are employed in our healthcare facilities to perform their respective
role or duty as nurses. The NMC claims it?s not their duty to give job to nurses. I have no problem with that though, but have they not failed in see to it that the employers (MOH/GHS and private bodies) are using the right caliber of nurses in performing their respective rules or duties in our healthcare facilities? Is the NMC telling us that too is not their duty? Here is the case where MOH/GHS are using enrolled nurses in place of registered nurses just because of cheap labor. I don?t have any problem with the existence of these enrolled nurses our healthcare system. They play a very vital role but is the GHS using them for what they are trained for?

Now, it is blatantly obvious that the GHS and NMC have failed Ghanaians. They are just being manipulated by politicians to play in tune with their agenda.

Just recently the ministry of finance on behalf of the government presented the 2015 budget to the parliament, the point 136 sub-point 3in page 38 of the budget statement says, ?Continuation of the policy of net freeze on employment into all sectors of the public services (excluding education and health) and non-replacement of departing public sector employees in overstaffed areas?. Now this statement means no employment in all public sectors except health and education sectors and that means all professionals in these two sectors can be
employed. To me this is just a political talk because over the years, nurses and teachers from the nurses and teacher training colleges are given job but nurses, other paramedics and teachers from our universities are denied job. Now a new breed of registered general nurses will finish their internship end of 2014. Early January, 2015
the diploma nurses will be employed whiles the graduate nurses will still be in the house looking for job.

I want to appeal to all stakeholders, the media and every individual Ghanaian to add say in this unfortunate practices going on in our health sector.

By:

Collins Barnie

Concern graduate nurse

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