Imagine your daughter or son, imagine your brother or sister graduating from school and being enrolled unto a national service scheme for 8 months without service allowance? Yet such a professional has to wake up every day and go to work, pay rent every month, pay for his / her medical bills in times of sickness, buy food, buy clothings and uniform in order to fulfil his or her professional obligations in the name of service to God and humanity. If this your son or daughter goes to the hospital to give care to patients under these prevailing bad conditions enumerated above, what quality care can you receive from someone who is sick him/ herself according to WHO standard definition of health? This is the situation of eleven thousand two hundred and twenty three ( 11, 223) rotational nurses and midwives across the sixteen( 16) regions in Ghana. These young nurses and midwives were excited the day the they were told they have successfully passed their licensure examination and were glad to join their senior colleagues at the various health sectors across the country in order to help alleviate the pain of the sick and promote health among the population. They thought they had made the right choice in life to join the call of serving the sick and the general population of Ghana. These nurses and midwives run 12 hours and 8 hours duty and others even do more than these hours just for the love of humanity and the call to serve corporate Ghana. These young nurses and midwives have to seek for the services of loan facilities from friends and families with the promise that they would redeem these loans at most within the next three months of their services. These young professionals have to dress and pick cars to work, some have to walk miles away to their place of work not just for exercise sake, but for lack of money to pick transport. I am reliably informed about others who go to work on empty stomach just to take care of their patients in the fulfilment of their oath to care for patients. Some of these young professions have to be ejected from their places of residence by their landlords for non- payment of rent, some have to resort to begging patients and other people for survival. Did these young professionals swear an oath of poverty or suffering? What is the future of these young professionals? These are the professionals that are going to occupy various leadership positions in the health sector in the next ten years when the aged workforce retires. Let us not deceive ourselves as a country, whatever a man sows, that shall be reap. Tell me the standard of care and the passion that these young professional would bring on board? We must not forget about the law of cause and effect in the place of leadership; these unfair treatment and injustices have a long time effect and we may not be able to bear it as a country. The effect may be like a volcanic erruption one day. The hopes and the aspirations of these young professionals are gradually fading off. Most of these nurses and midwives have now turned into various tradings and works that undermines the dignity of the profession. These nurses and midwives have been hurt emotionally and psychologically because of these treatment. The public are of the perception that they have money yet they can not even have a square meal day. On the side of the ladies, some have to resort to promiscuous life and trade their dignity and bodies in order to survive and make ends meet. These lifestyles have had a backlash from the public domain over the years. I do not subscribe to these lifestyles as alternative, however I do not also blame them for choosing such paths as vulnerable as they are. It is only God who know what some of these young nurses are doing for survival. Some may have to resort to selling of patients drugs, pilfering and many unscrupulous lifestyle in order to survive. I do not support such options, but I want to challenge our quietness and irresponsibility and neglect of these young gallant soldiers in the health sector of Ghana. This cannot be right. These environment and neglect created undermines the fundamental right of these young professionals and is in contravention with Article 24(1) which violates their economic rights. The rule of law must be respected and upheld by all in order to promote peace and increase productivity. This can not be normal in this country. From 1St February up to now, these rotational nurses have not been paid.
This treatment also violates the provisions of the labour law, Act 2003 ( Act 651) both in spirit and letter. The rule of law thrives on the principles of fairness and justices for all citizens of which nurses and midwives holds not exception.
The work and their output can not be over looked, there are some facilities and health centres that maily relies on the resources of rotational nurses and midwives. Imagine these nurses and midwives giving medications and other procedures, is it suprising to see surge in medical errors in recent times? Let us pay attention to the welfare of nurses and midwives in this country. In leadership and Governance, you make sure you take good care of your employees so that they can give your clients the best customer care.
Before 2013, IPPD forms were filled at school by nurses and midwives in order for them to have their staff IDs which makes it easy for their allowances to be pad right after being enrolled onto the service scheme at most within the first three months of engagement. These made it easy for all Nurses and midwives to get their allowances without any delay. From 2013 upwards, roatational nurses and midwives have to go through series of struggles and challenges in order to have their allowances. Filling of the IPPD forms enables the nurse or midwife to have his / her staff ID. It is after the generation of the staff ID that these professionals can have their biometric registration done in order to process their allowances. Without staff ID, they can not have their biometric registration done. As at 15th September, Western Region still had their IPPD forms at the regional office after 8 months of work by these rotational nurses according to a reliable source from these nurses. Some of the forms have gotten to national for the processes to begin whiles others are still at either the facility level, district or regional levels. It must be mentioned that some of the Human resource officers have done their best whereas others have also being slow on the whole process.
The fact remains that 11, 223 rotational nurses have not been paid their alllowance for 8 months, it is unacceptable, and it reveals the weakness and the ineffectiveness of our system as a country. Why can our systems not work for these problems to be resolved? Leaders and managers are appointed to fix problem, we do not want to hear excuses, enough of the excuse in our country. The various agencies and offices responsible for this challenge must be up and doing, we can not be having these problems over and over again, what lessons are we learning from the past in order not to repeat these problems again. How many leaders and managers can be employed and for 8 months without pay and any internal allowance? Can this be normal? It can only be normal when abnormality becomes a normality.
On the side of the various nurse managers : in charges( level 1), supervisors( level), DDNS ( level 3 ) managers across the various regions, district and and health centres in Ghana: Are you are aware of these plight of your young professionals in your facility? Are you aware that most of your rotational nurses and midwives come to work on empty stomach? Are you are aware they have not even had their staff IDs? And if you are, what have you done about it?
Can you not lobby for these nurses and midwives at least to be given Gh 50 every month as an allowance from your internally generated funds as an interim measure?
How often have you met these professionals to listen to their concern and to at least encourage them and relieve them of their psychological trauma?
Leadership and management is about proactiveness and to see a potential problem before it becomes ba reality. This will definitely undermine the quality of nursing and midwifery care in the country.
We should have heard your voice by now as Leaders and fight for these young professionals. These young nurses and midwives had pleaded for at least Gh 50 as a monthly stipends but have been denied. These young professionals need to get the best care from you so that they can give excellent care to your patients. Could these be one of the underlining factors of the bad attitude of some nurses and midwives in recent times? I do not seek to support bad attitude of any health professional but it is important to critically examine the causes and effects of some of these behaviours. May we not lose our respect and love for the people we lead, we need to speak for them. And all nurse managers and Directors of health who are threating the rotational nurses and midwives for raising these concern, posterity shall judge your performance and output one day.
On the part of the various medical ditectors, district and regional health directors, hope you are aware of these situations and I know you are pretty sure these would be counterproductive and will go a long way to undermine your great effort of ensuring your population get the quality care they deserve. Nurses and midwives are in the majority in the health care industry globally, and it is always safe to ensure leadership address any issue that affects their output at all cost. I know you might have done you part to bring a lasting solution to these issues.
Kudos to all the Human Resource officers who have done their part of the responsibilities.
But shame on all those who have not done anything to help these young professionals live up to expectation.
On daily basis nurses and midwives are leaving the shores of this country because of the dissatisfaction rate and lack of adequate measures put in place in order to motivate the average nurse and midwife to stay. I know central government is doing his best, but the various Institutions must also work to enhance the management of these professionals.
On the part of the Nursing & Midwifery Council ( NMC) as the regulator of the nursing profession in Ghana should also be proactive to engage all stakeholders in these issues and see how they can resolve the issues once and for all and set up standards that would preserve the integrity of the Noble profession. The NMC must not allow the dignity of the nurses and midwives to be undermines, it is time to speak and come clear on some of these issues else alll your efforts in training nurese and midwives would not be realised.
The Labour Commission must be up and doing and know that these issues has the potential of reversing the productivity and quality health care in the health sector. The Labour Commission is very much aware of the impact of these nurses on the developemental agenda of Ghana.
And to the Government of the day who is being represented by the sector Minister of Health, attention has to be given to this issues and come out with clear policy direction and instruction to various officers across the country whose duty it is to ensure these nurses and midwives have their allowances within the first three months maximum. We can not be failing the same examination over and over again. I know you have the capacity to fix this problem, if you have not been informed , I am using this medium to inform you that, it is possible to pay rotational nurses and midwives winthin the first three months of work. All your efforts and passion for the health sector would be reversed if this and many other related issues are not dealt with. Am calling on you because you are the one that has been given the ultimate responsibility to ensure the vision of our health sector is followed to the latter. These young nurses and midwives numbering 11, 223 are threating a strike action as a result of the delay of their monthly allowances for 8 months now. Most have not even had their staff ID as at now, chances are that the delay may go further for at least three ( 3) months, since this is a process than an event.
On the part of civil society, the media, religious organizations, the various professional bodies in this country, I am using this medium to make a Clarion call on us all to be each other's keeper, lets speak on issues that are undermining the efforts of this country in developing. We need to speak for our younger professional, we need to be aware of all that is happening around us, be interested in every sector of the country and and see how you can contribute to the health sector development in Ghana.
Finally, I want to encourage the rotational nurses and midwives across the country to take heart, keep calm, be of good cheer and am pretty sure that your plight would be addressed. Give the best care to your patients out there, you are the future of the nursing and the midwifery profession in Ghana. Do not allow your pain to make you bitter, convert your pain to power by acting responsibly. You shall not die , it is not the best way to learn a lesson, however, you shall emerged strong and resilient for corporate Ghana.
For further information & inquiry WhatsApp the president of the Rotational Nurses & Midwives ( 0247271190)
Share until it gets to the minister of health and the president.
Rev.Jefferson Agbotro Kwasi
MSC OD
CERTIFIELD LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT
HEALTH ADVOCATE
CEO, FOHA
Member, Ghana Coalition of Health NGOs
+233 249727900 : WhatsApp Only