GNRMA kicks against decision to employ SHS graduates as nurses assistants
The Youth Employment Agency’s decision to seek the services of Senior High School graduates to serve as aids to nurses at the Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS ) compounds in the country has left questions lingering in the mind of members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) which are begging for answers.
Mr David Tankorang, General Secretary of the GRNMA has criticized the decision indicating that it was not in line with the set standard for professional nurse practice.
GRNMA in a statement indicated that it recognizes the herculean task of most of the staff at the CHPS compounds and that if help should be offered, it should be their fellow nurses and not SHS graduates.
Also, the decision does not get the association’s blessings because there is a total backlog of about 20,000 nurses belonging to 2019, 2020 and 2O21 batches eagerly waiting to be employed.
Mr Tankorang said the program is an exercise in futility which will lead to losses for the economy to prepare half-baked nurses for the professionals working at the CHPS compounds.
According to David Takorang, the decision is not fair and deviates from Ghana’s aim to achieve Universal Health Coverage which is the Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 3.
National Youth Authority head of public affairs Mohammed Awal said the practice has been there since 2006 and was paused in 2018. He thus finds it difficult to understand why issues are now being raised about the module that commenced in 2006.
He said the personnel will be given three weeks of training by the Ghana Health Service to serve in that capacity.
