Kwaku Agyeman-Manu – Minister of Health
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced the employment of additional 236 nurses after receiving financial clearance from the Finance Ministry.
The number brings to over 16,000 graduate nurses from public training schools who have been employed by government after years of staying home.
Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who disclosed this said, “So far this year, we have employed just about 16, 000 of these nurses who were sitting home. In the course of this week, we got financial clearance to add 236.”
The sector minister added, “We have sent a request to Finance Ministry to enable us also recruit some of those sitting at home who did their training in private schools, and God willing if we get that one in the course of the next months left for the year to end, we will continue to recruit them.”
Mr Agyeman-Manu stated that provisions have been made in next year’s budget for the recruitment of trainees from private nursing schools should the request not pull through.
“If we are not able to do that, come next year we have done adequate budgetary allocations, all of them will come on board,” the minister explained.
He was speaking at the induction ceremony for the 2016 qualified nurse assistants, nurse and midwives and the commissioning of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s office complex.
The ceremony witnessed the swearing of the nurse’s and midwife’s pledge by registered midwives, mental health nurses, community nurses and general nurses.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Agyeman-Manu called for more specialisation in nursing, adding that it is sad that the country has a few specialised nurses and this has made it difficult to reach all persons who need specialised healthcare.
“With the establishment of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives, I am confident that more trained specialist nurses and midwives would be churned out,” he said.
He added that while government provides the necessary infrastructure, the training of nurses is also crucial in working to meet the Sustainable Development Goals of reducing maternal mortality to at least 70 per 100,000 live births, reduce neonatal deaths and children under five years of age and reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being by 2030.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, giving the guest speaker’s address, tasked the nurses to be truthful to the nurse’s pledge and midwife’s prayer to care for people in their most vulnerable moments.
“You have a duty to care for patients, clients and their relatives who are entitled to receive safe and competent care,” she said.
Prof Amfo, who is the Dean of the School of Languages, University of Ghana, also encouraged the newly-inducted nurses and midwives to seek professional development, which is important to the progress of their profession.
“Note that your progression is not up to your boss, your progression depends on you. Develop yourself intellectually and practically if you graduated with a certificate, plan to do a diploma, if you have a diploma now plan for a degree, if you have a degree now, plan for a post-graduate programme,” she highlighted.
Most Rev Prof Emmanuel Asante, Immediate Past President, Methodist Church, Ghana & Chairman of National Peace Council, prayed to officially commission the head office and unveiling of the Florence Nightingale Burst.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri