Poor working conditions of nurses and midwives have been identified as one of the key factors driving the increasing rate of nurses quitting their jobs in search of greener pastures outside the country.
Mr. Douglas Addai, Chairman of the Obuasi East Chapter of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), who made the assertion, bemoaned the conditions under which nurses and midwives worked in the country.
Speaking at the second annual week celebration of Obuasi East GRNMA in Obuasi, Mr. Addai said the nation had failed to recognise the efforts and contributions of nurses, hence the high attrition of nurses and other health care personnel in recent times.
“It is regrettable that the country is losing experience and hardworking nurses to foreign lands, but this did not happen by accident but through years of shortchanging nurses and lack of respect and recognition for their efforts,” he added.
He said some preferred to stay in the country and work, but the government needed to take steps to provide a congenial environment with the right incentives to convince them to stay.
As part of the week celebration, some nurses and midwives were awarded for their hard work with Abigail Ntuwala Logi of the AGA Health Foundation being adjudged the best worker for the year 2023.
Ms. Logi, who recently won the Ashanti Regional best worker and will be representing the regional GRNMA in the national contest, took home a table top refrigerator.
Dr. Patrick Boakye Yiadom, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi East, however, noted that the Government had put in a lot of efforts to retain nurses in the country.
He said the government recognised the invaluable contributions of nurses and midwives, hence the approval of new conditions of service for them.
The MP entreated nurses to recognise the government’s efforts and the investment made in them by the state to continue to serve the country.
He said projects like Agenda 111 would serve as an avenue for the recruitment of more nurses and other health personnel to improve access to healthcare across the country.
“Government has over the years supported health personnel in the country. It has rolled out a plethora of programmes and interventions all to encourage and motivate nurses to stay and work so we are leaving nothing to chance,” he insisted.
Dr. Enyonam Kwawukume, the Obuasi East District Director of Health Services, commended nurses and midwives in the district, emphasising that their resolve to support healthcare delivery was demonstrated during the outbreak of Covid-19.
She said though some health personnel had left the shores of the country to seek greener pastures, the health directorate had put in measures to contain the situation and maintain a good nurse – patient ratio.
GNA