Nurses’ allowance must be retained – GRNA

The Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) has warned that it would resist any attempt by any person or group of persons who would push for the withdrawal of allowances of trainee nurses.

The Association said the allowances were negotiated for and factored into the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and must be retained.

“We cannot accept to be marginalised by anyone who fails to recognise our rights as professionals and resort to acts that will undermine the respect due our profession which we hold as one of a matchless value,” Mr Kwaku Asante-Krobea, President of the GRNA said at the 14th  Biennial National conference of the Association, in Wa.

The four-day conference is on the theme: “Strengthening Autonomy Nursing and Midwifery Practice: Challenges and Way forward.”

The conference would be addressing issues such as care and commitment, identify challenges and factors that confronts the caring role of nurses and the way forward.

Mr Asante-Krobea said since the implementation of the SSSS, nurses and midwives are the only core health professionals that had not embarked on strike although they are not satisfied with their placement on the structure.

He said this is due to their resolve to put the patient first as they abhor the repercussions if they withdraw their services in relations to the labour law and in reverence to the collective oath of the International Council of Nurses and upholding the principle of exhausting all channels of negotiation before considering a strike.

The Association, he said is not happy because the Managers of the National Health Insurance Authority had done a great disservice to nurses and midwives for not exempting them from the payment of health care cost incurred from their line of duty.

According to the GRNA President, 43 per cent of all ailments reported by the group of professionals were hospital-acquired out of which 31 per cent was back- trouble related.

He said 48 per cent of nurses and midwives in General Wards and 33 per cent in Oncology wards of the hospitals suffer from job place related back trouble.

Mr Asante-Krobea expressed optimism that nurses and midwives would fulfill the demands of patients who expect quality health care and also meet the demands of their employers with regard to productivity.

Dr Ephraim Avea Nsor, Upper West Regional Minister acknowledged the role nurses and midwives are playing to save lives and commended them for refusing to go on strike even though they have post SSSS implementation grievances.

Dr Robert Kunganeb-Lem, Head of Department of Allied Health, said for nurses to gain autonomy they should be competent and be prepared to take responsibility for their actions and the results of the actions.

He noted that nurses’ education is being handled by persons who are too remote to the profession and called for reforms in the nurses’ human resource policy to enable professionals to give adequate and efficient health care to the people.

Source: GNA