Dr Samuel Kwabena Boakye-Boateng, the Upper East Regional Director, Ghana Health Service (GHS), said the contributions of nurses and midwives in the healthcare delivery system of the country cannot be overstated, describing them as the “backbone of the healthcare system.”
They provided wide range of services from primary essential care to specialized care and support to patients across the lifespan, he said.
“Your roles are essential for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), crucial not only in maintaining the health and well-being of individuals and meeting population health needs, but also in contributing to the broader economic prosperity of societies,” he said.
Dr Boakye-Boateng said this when he addressed members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) at the launch of the International Nurses Day at Pusu-Namongo in the Talensi District of the Region.
The launch, on the theme: “Nurses and Midwives, our Future: the Economic Power of Care,” brought together members of the Association across the 15 municipalities and districts of the region.
The Regional Health Director lauded said the efforts of nurses and midwives in the delivery of preventive care, patient education on healthy living practices and management of chronic conditions to reduce the disease burden on the healthcare systems.
“This, in turn leads to cost savings by reducing the need for expensive medical treatments and hospitalizations. Additionally, nurses and midwives play a critical role in supporting the workforce, particularly in industries that rely on a healthy and productive workforce,” he said.
Dr Gilbert T. Nachinab, Head of Department of General Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, who delivered the keynote address, said nurses and midwives were arguably the biggest workforce across healthcare facilities.
He said every patient who visited the hospital met or received some services from a nurse or midwife, and that kept huge responsibility on the shoulders of every nurse or midwife to touch lives and create a good image for the profession.
“A nurse at the Out-Patient Department, a nurse at the ward, injection room, theatre, dressing room and so on, play important roles. The impression we create for ourselves and the profession boils down to the skills and capacities we exhibit,” he said.
Dr Nachinab, however, admonished them to “move away from sharing nursing tasks with patients’ relatives.
“Ghanaian nurses perform creditably well when they travel out of Ghana, and we must do same for our people here in Ghana if we want to attract more investment in the field of nursing.”
