As Ghana joins the rest of the world to commemorate International Nurses’ Day to celebrate the incredible difference nursing staff make to patients’ lives across the globe, nurses have decried the low numbers of nurses employed in the service.
On the occasion of the day, a General Nurse at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital (ENRH), Helen Afrifa Obeng has placed an urgent emphasis on the ratio of nurse – to – patients.
Speaking to Spice FM on Adekyee Mu Nsem, Helen Obeng attributed the low nurse to patient ratio to inadequate nurses and brain drain in the health sector.
She explained that currently the nurse – to – patient ratio stands at 60 nurses to 2000 patients which makes the nursing work very frustrating.
” At our facility, for instance, one nurse can take care of about 30 patients a day. This makes our task uneasy for us.” she said.
Nurses’ Day
International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who is the founder of modern nursing. Florence Nightingale was an English nurse, social reformer and statistician who initiated the key pillars of modern nursing.
She started working as a nurse in charge of the wounded British and allied soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-56). Known as the Lady with the Lamp, Nightingale spent most of her time comforting and caring for the injured.
She also gained fame as a trainer of nurses and manager of modern nursing. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) started the celebration of International Nurses Day in 1965, to celebrate the sacrifices and selflessness of nurses.
On the professional competence of nurses in the face of seemingly sour relationships between Nurse and the patient, Regina Quaicoe an Emergency Nurse at ENRH, said they are trained to uphold professionalism at all times. This she said is centered on respect and dignity.
Touching on challenges, Madam Regina laments over the lack of logistics, poor conditions of service, to ensure the delivery of healthcare to patients.
“We lack logistics such as monitor at the ENRH and without it, our work becomes very difficult. Our salaries are nothing to write home about, so we ask government to review nurses’ conditions of service.
Nurses in Ghana do not have any insurance cover but for the National Health Insurance Scheme. Our colleagues in the private sector enjoy better insurance cover than those us in the public sector.
They, however, called on authorities to as a matter of urgency provide the facility with the requisite logistics to aid quality health care delivery.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is calling on African governments to commit necessary investments to help improve the attractiveness of the nursing profession.
This he said will require proper equipment, better working conditions, appropriate education, upskilling opportunities, and job creation. He said leadership of nurses needs to be optimized to drive the nursing agenda across education, employment, policy and practice.
Dr. Moeti noted nine million more nurses and midwives are needed to realize health-related global Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. While celebrating all nurses in the African Region, WHO expresses appreciation to the unwavering dedication in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
