The Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the Catholic Bishop of the Sunyani Diocese, has advised health professionals and workers to adhere to ethics governing the profession to avoid legal cases.
Most Rev Gyamfi gave the advice when speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of the St Mary’s campus of the Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Drobo in the Jaman North Municipality of the Bono Region.
The celebration was on the theme “Quality Healthcare Training at Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College Berekum: 10 Years’ Experience at St Mary Campus, Drobo.’
Most Rev Gyamfi, also the President of the Catholic Bishop Conference expressed concern about the rising trend of legal cases against health professionals, including negligence, and advised nurses in particular conduct themselves responsibly in the discharge of their duties.
He said the health sector was sensitive, saying “negligence in healthcare delivery can have serious consequences on patients and on the nation”.
“Health workers must therefore be mindful of their profession because the society in which they are working is becoming increasingly informed and assertive,” the Catholic Priest stated.
Most Rev. Gyamfi urged healthcare workers to approach their profession with compassion, and empathy when attending to clients who might be vulnerable or in distress.
He reminded that clients who visited health facilities deserved to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their condition.
Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, expressed appreciation to the National Catholic Health Service for its significant contributions to the nation’s health sector and establishing training centres to support healthcare delivery.
She said the government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of providing quality healthcare delivery in the country and called for private sector support.
The Regional Minister however stressed the government commitment to bring healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of the people, hence the construction of Regional, Specialised, and District Hospitals under the “Agenda 111” project.
Since its establishment in 2014 with 100 students, the College has successfully graduated eight batches of 719 graduates, including 450 Nurses and 269 Midwives.
Currently, the campus has a student population of 624, made up of 367 student nurses and 257 student midwives, with a staff population of 38.
She mentioned inadequate hostel facilities, lack of staff bungalows as well as out-dated kitchen facilities, insufficient human resources, and limited transportation and deplorable access roads as some of the pressing needs of the college.
GNA