GHS Director supports scraping of trainee nurses’ allowances

Dr. Joseph Teye Nuertey, Volta Regional Director of Ghana Health Services (GHS), Friday backed the call for allowances paid to student nurses to be scrapped.

Dr. John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, touched off the debate when he suggested that allowances paid to student nurses should be  scrapped.

Dr. Nuertey argued that the country needed money to equip health facilities and could not continue giving allowances to trainee nurses.

He said the Ministry of Health was spending between 85 and 90 per cent of its budget on personal emoluments and that the call for scraping the allowances was in the “right direction.”

However, Mr Tony Goodman, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, explained that “these allowances help to retain and motivate nurses in the country.”

He said the incentive helped in changing the country’s “brain drain situation into brain gain.”

Mr Goodman said trainee nurses who failed their licensure examinations had three chances during which they took their allowances and after the third chance they were taken off the allowances.

“Now, immediately you leave or complete College,   you are automatically off the allowance.”

Mr Goodman said the trainee nurses were always on the field and do not go home while in school and therefore needed the allowances.

Source: GNA