Nurses and midwives commended for working to preserve and restore the health of Ghanaians

A former National first Vice President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Mr Michael Mahamoud Mahamah has commended nurses in Ghana for devoting their best of their knowledge, solidarity and service to preserving and restoring the health of Ghanaians.

He said nurses deserved the commendation of the entire country for the frontal role they played in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country by helping to manage and stem the spread of the deadly virus.

Occasion

Mr Mahamah who is also a former lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS) gave the commendation at a symposium to mark the Northern Regional celebrations of this year’s International Nurses’ Day (IND) held in Tamale last Tuesday (December 1, 2020) on the theme “Nursing the world to health: Projecting the true value of Ghanaian Nurses and Midwives”.

The day is observed and celebrated by nurses on May 12, each year to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the “Mother” of modern nursing, and to project the profile of the nursing profession to the world.

The event was however was postponed until due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theme

Speaking on the theme for the celebration, Mr Mahamah said nurses, as the key health professionals in Ghana, were in a unique position to act as powerful advocates for a healthy country, as nurses and midwives constituted up to 80 per cent of the qualified health work-force in most of the health facilities in the country.

He said they also represent a potential force for bringing about changes to meet the needs of “Health for All” in the 21st century.

“Indeed, nurses’ contribution to health services covers the whole spectrum of health care and it is clear that nurses are the backbone of most heath care teams in Ghana”, he emphasized.

Mr Mahamah however noted that the attitudes and behaviours of some nurses towards patients in recent times has reinforced the negative perceptions that a segment of the society holds about the profession.

He therefore used the occasion to call on the few “bad nuts” who have surfaced in the nursing profession to change their ways to help erase that negative perceptions.

Projecting the nursing profession

The retired nurse said although the public held nurses in high regard, they knew very little about what nurses actually does and therefore called on the GRNMA to find a way to secure funds to project the nursing profession in Ghana for the public to know more about the profession to enable them appreciate the work of nurses in the society.

Welfare/ Admonition

The Northern Regional Chairman of the GRNMA, Mr Abukari Alhassan in his welcome address paid glowing tribute to their departed members in the region key among them was Bagza-Naa Alhassan Amadu, popularly known as Chief Alhassan, who was a  children, women’s rights, and family planning advocate who passed on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. 

He revealed that, the association both at the national and regional levels went about its work and responded frontally to the COVID-19 pandemic which included the donation of Personal Protective gears to their members across all the districts as well as ensuring a constant monitoring for prompt intervention.

He encouraged members to work vigorously to save lives in the country and assured them that, their interests was paramount hence their welfare will be protected together with the rolling out of welfare packages to their benefit.

The Nanton Naa Mahamudu V, who chaired the event, admonished young nurses and midwives to minimize the time they spent on their mobile phones while at work and give much attention to the care of patients and also not allow money to narrow their focus as nurses in the country.