Nurses and midwives cited for intolerance (20/02/09)

Story: Precious Koranteng-Agyei & Jennifer Dornoo
THE Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nurses and Midwives Council of Ghana (NMC), Reverend Veronica Darko, has expressed concern over the intolerant manner in which some nurses and midwives treat patients under their care.
“Some of the concerns have to do with the impolite way the patients are welcomed to the health facility, the insults rained on them when they are unable to provide certain vital information and the impatient manner in which prescriptions are explained to them,” she explained.
She, therefore, urged nurses and midwives to exhibit the natural tendency to be sympathetic, caring and patient to their clients.
Reverend Darko was speaking at the close of a two-day workshop on enhancing the image of nursing and midwifery practice in Ghana in Accra yesterday.
About 120 nurse managers and principals of nursing and midwifery training institutions within the Greater Accra Region attended the workshop, which was organised by the NMC as part of its five-year strategic plan to train nurses and midwives to live up to their professional ethics by providing quality health care for their clients.
Among the topics discussed were professional adjustment, a code of conduct for nurses and midwives and teamwork.
The registrar attributed the bad service delivery to the recruitment of the wrong calibre of people into the training institutions, noting that "the NMC has doubts as to whether persons with the right qualities in terms of personality traits are being recruited into the profession".
She said the successful practice of nursing or midwifery hinged not merely on the possession of the prescribed academic qualifications but, more important, the right character traits.
Rev Darko, therefore, urged principals and tutors of nursing and midwifery training schools to ensure proper screening and training of candidates before they joined the workforce.
The Chief Nursing Officer, Mr George Kyeremeh, cautioned nurses and midwives against compromising their integrity for money.
He advised nurses to be professional when dealing with patients because people were now more informed on their health needs.
A retired Director of Nursing Services, Ms Miriam Hornsby-Odoi, reminded the participants of the core values of the Ghana Health Service, which were professionalism, teamwork, innovation, excellence and integrity, and advised them to abide by those tenets.