Community Health Nurses begin indefinite strike
The Community Health Nurses Association of Ghana (CHNAG) has declared a nationwide indefinite strike, beginning today.
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The association has also threatened to take legal action against the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) over alleged illegalities meted out to its members.
At a news conference held in Accra yesterday, the President of the association, Mrs Esther Frimpomaa Bamfo, cited the change of name from Community Health Nurse to Nursing Assistant as the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
“The name ‘Community Health Nurse’ has been a household name so far as preventive health care in Ghana is concerned and we cannot understand why it should be taken away from people who have been trained in Community Health Nursing,” she said.
Impediments to career development
The news conference, which was attended by regional representatives of CHNAG, also highlighted a myriad of challenges confronting the association, including impediments to career progression by its members.
Mrs Bamfo contended that the decision by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to issue Nursing Assistant certificate to their members, who were admitted by the Community Health Nurse’s requirement after the completion of their course, was unacceptable.
“We do not understand why such major decisions could be taken by the NMC without involving the CHNAG. We want to state that we do not want to be called Nurse Assistants. In fact, we have suffered discrimination, unfair treatment and frustration for far too long and will not relent in our decision to lay down our tools indefinitely,” she stated.
She said very little opportunity was given to members of the association to upgrade themselves in an era where healthcare delivery was fast changing and required constant upgrading of knowledge and skills.
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According to her, some of its members had to serve for nine years without being given study leave to upgrade themselves, while those who completed access courses at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) were barely given the opportunity to pursue diploma courses.
The National Secretary of CHNAG, Mr Godsway Delima, who also spoke at the conference, said there was a general disregard for Community Health Nurses who faced daunting challenges in the remote communities where they provided health care.
“Our members in rural communities use their own resources to buy motorbikes in order to facilitate data collection in hard-to-reach-areas. But, we are least recognised by other stakeholders in healthcare delivery. This is unacceptable,” he said.
Narrative
Giving a narrative of the situation, Mr Delima explained that last year, concerns were raised by CHNAG over the name change and certification of its members, which were done without their knowledge.
He said following that, the MoH set up a committee to look into the issue.
After a back and forth of events, the leadership of CHNAG met with the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, who gave the committee a three-week ultimatum to delve into the issue.
“We have been waiting for those three weeks all this while, meanwhile the NMC continue to issue Nursing Assistant certificate to our members. We will not sit unconcerned,” he stressed.