Give us better conditions of services if you want us to stay in Ghana – Nurses to government
Nurses have advised the government to improve their conditions of service if it wants to curb the brain drain in the health sector.
Madam Perpetual Ofori Ampofo, president of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) asked the government to pay allowances to health workers and also increase salaries as a way of retaining the workers in the country.
“The truth of the matter is that migration is a right, a person can move anywhere to go and work. So let’s increase salaries, improve conditions of work and let’s provide the requisite allowances people need to be comfortable to work here” she said.
Madam Ofori Ampofo expressed worry that some of the unemployed graduate nurses have been waiting for two years for their postings. “And even as we talked about financial clearance, we still have a lot of qualified nurses and midwives who are waiting to be posted. There have been a lot of agitations recently by the trained professionals who are yet to be given employment”.
“Meanwhile, Ghanaian nurses and midwives are well sought after in western countries because of their quality. So, if I get up tomorrow and I make an informed decision that I want to travel abroad and work, nothing should stand in my way as an individual. But as a nation we should put in the necessary plans to ensure that even if people are moving out to work elsewhere, we should still have enough of the workforce remain in Ghana to provide nursing and midwifery services for the good people of Ghana,” she said.
Her comments come on the back of a recent Government of Ghana appeal to nurses and other health professionals not to leave Ghana for other countries to seek greener pastures.
Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare told the nurses that Ghanaians were looking up to them to meet their health needs in the country hence they should stay.
Dr Nsiah-Asare’s comments also followed concerns raised by the General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Titus Beyuo to the effect that medical doctors and nurses are leaving the country in droves.
Dr Beyuo said brain drain has returned to the medical profession in Ghana.
“As we speak, doctors and nurses are leaving this country in droves, brain drain has returned in full swing,” Dr Beyuo noted.
“I know that because I am the General Secretary of the GMA, I won’t give you figures immediately,” he said when asked by host Roland Walker to mention how many have so far left the country.
He added that “But I can give you some examples, I will give you a unit in one hospital I won’t name, a big hospital in Accra, from January till now, five doctors have left that unit. We need to do something about it deliberate in this country”.
