Let’s have a unified voice locally and globally – GRNMA boss urges nurses, midwives

The President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, has advised nurses and midwives to frequently check their ID cards to ensure scammers are not using them for the wrong reasons.

She observed an increasing spate of unscrupulous people who swap the IDs of nurses in order to steal, impersonate, or commit some other crimes.

She gave this caution on Monday, December 4, 2023, when the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital branch of the association held its week-long celebration and a symposium.

Speaking on the theme “Nurses and Midwives in solidarity towards advancing quality health care,” Mrs. Ofori-Ampofo also pledged to dutifully serve the association on both local and international platforms.

“We will continue to serve you in terms of representing you both locally and internationally. I mentioned Uganda. We were there to discuss how, as African nursing and midwifery associations, we can put ourselves together to serve the interests of our people,” she said.

She encouraged nurses and midwives to plan ahead and be well organised around their objectives in order to have a common voice inside and outside of Ghana.

“It is not enough to attend international conferences; you can sometimes feel like you are a spectator; you are just listening to them without making any impact. It is important that we really organise ourselves so that we can make an impact both in Africa and beyond,” she advised.

She noted that the conversations in world-class meetings she had the opportunity to attend do not effectively communicate the vision of the association.

She, however, revealed that, despite its present challenges, the association is still doing extremely well in terms of practice.

On the brain drain of nurses, midwives, and other health professionals, Mrs. Ofori-Amanfo lamented that the situation is worrying considering the years of experience the professionals have gained in providing quality health care.

She therefore called on the government to do all it can to improve the living standards of all health workers in order to dissuade them from moving out.

She added her voice to calls on the government to reduce or waive import charges for vehicles owned by health professionals while making the National Health Insurance Scheme accessible to health workers across the country.