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The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Mushiebu Mohammed-Alfa has observed that the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) makes it imperative for care-givers to support the government to build a robust health system to forestall the spread of preventable diseases.
He made the observation during the climax of this year’s regional nurses’ week celebration of the Upper West Regional branch of the Ghana Registered Nurses’ and Midwives’ Association (GRNMA) at Jirapa.
According to Radio Ghana’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister also called on the leadership of the nursing fraternity to provide visionary leadership in their partnership with policy makers in the area of safe staffing, adding that senior nurses and midwives must equally “continue to provide mentorship and preceptorship trainings” to shape and reshape junior members of the profession.
Dr. Mohammed-Alfa said the main focus of government in the health sector is to support primary health care, expand and equip hospitals with facilities, localize medical treatment and as much as possible keep the cost of health delivery low.
He said statistics on key health and nutrition indicators of the Upper west Region show that 67 children out of every one thousand born die before their first birth day whilst over 22 thousand children in the region under age five are stunted.
Mr. Mohammed-Alfa stressed the need for members of the Association to uphold their ethics and eschew all practices that can dent the image of the nursing profession.
The Chairperson of the Upper West Regional branch of the Ghana Registered Nurses’ and Midwives’ Association (GRNMA), Madam Victoria Dangori pointed out that the celebration had enabled nurses and midwives to do self-introspection to improve on their work and stressed the need for the members of nursing fraternity to be guided by the key attributes of Florence Nightingale in their line of duty.
She stated that attitudinal change is needed to regain the professional image nurses have lost and emphasized that the Association is willing to do away with badly behaved members.
Touching on some challenges facing nurses and midwives, Madam Dangori mentioned what she termed “an inconsistency with issues of promotion” and non-provision of accommodation for that category of staff and called for a review of policy in respect of the challenges.
The Upper West Regional Director of Health, Dr. Winifred Ofosu stated that the diversity of skills nurses possess make them a force to reckon with in the health delivery chain but regretted that at times the skills are under-utilized.
The DCE for Jirapa, Cletus Seidu Dapilah commended health workers for their hard work and called for others sectors to emulate the example in order to inure to the greater benefit of the country.
The Medical Director of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Dr. Richard Wodah-Seme praised Madam Olivia Dapilah who emerged as the best nurse for Upper West for 2015, adding she is a replica of Florence Nightingale that needed to be celebrated as way encouraging others rededicate themselves to serve humanity.http://ghanapoliticsonline.com
The Jirapa District Director of Health, Madam Pheobi Balagumtime reiterated the importance of nurses to be punctual, saying a minute’s delay can lead to the death of a patient.http://ghanapoliticsonline.com
A poetry recital by a student of the Nandom Midwifery Training College, Miss Linda Baligi titled “I salute Nurses” drew a thunderous applause from the audience at the Rev. Fr. John McNaulty Memorial Hall, the venue for the event.
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