Over 5,000 trainee nurses and midwives who have completed their studies but yet to be posted would besiege the Flagstaff House today to demand answers on why government has consistently refused to post them to health facilities two years after they graduated from school.
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Unemployed nurses to picket at Flagstaff House
Over 5000 nurses said it has chosen to picket at the Flagstaff House because the Ministry of Health have failed to explain the delay in their postings.
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The Ghana Nurses and Midwife Trainees Association (GNMTA) in a statement said after several months of patience, some members of the coalition (psychiatric nurses) picketed at the Ministry of Health on the 17th and 18th of August, 2015 in pursuance of their right but were convinced if not “deceived” by the leadership of the Ministry of Health (Mr. Arphul) and the Mental Health Authority (Dr. Akwasi Osei and Prof. Bediako) that our plight will be ameliorated in a maximum of two weeks’ ultimatum.
A statement signed by the group said it has chosen to picket at the seat of government because the Ministry of Health and other relevant institutions have failed to explain the delay in their postings.
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Below is the full statementPRESS RELEASE
UNEMPLOYED BUT BONDED NURSES AND MIDWIVES TO MEET PRESIDENT MAHAMA AT FLAGSTAFF HOUSE
Oh! Is it now a mistake or a misfortune to undergo training as a Nurse or Midwife in Ghana? Or it is a repercussion of administrative incompetence and negligence? The quality of Health services in Ghana quakes yet qualified and certified Health professionals (Psychiatric Nurses, Enrolled Nurses, Midwives, General Nurses, Community nurses among others) who completed training in 2013 and 2014 respectively have been neglected to deteriorate with their invaluable knowledge and skills.
The Ghana Nurse-Midwife Trainees Association (GNMTA) in collaboration with the Coalition of Unemployed Nurses and Midwives reckon it apt to register its immense discontentment with the output of the Ministry of Health and the government at large as far as our employment is concern. About 5,000 members who are victims of this jeopardy have now built resistance to the relentless but erroneous reassurances from the Ministry after several follow ups by the leadership.
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After several months of patience, some members of the coalition (psychiatric nurses) picketed at the Ministry of Health on the 17th and 18th of August, 2015 in pursuance of their right but were convinced if not “deceived” by the leadership of the Ministry of Health (Mr. Arphul) and the Mental Health Authority (Dr. Akwasi Osei and Prof. Bediako) that our plight will be ameliorated in a maximum of two weeks’ ultimatum. Letters to remind them were sent by GNMTA but were met with disregard.
Read more: Psychiatric nurses on strike
Nonetheless, these disappointed and aggrieved nurses after another month of patience went back to picket at the MOH (14th September) for answers and were once again assured by the Minister of Health that we will start working by the end of September, 2015 hence entreated us to dismiss his premises with much hope risen in us. This gargantuan reassurance has also been left unfulfilled hence worsening the psychological turbulences of these innocent professionals who believed in negotiations. Several follow ups have been made to communicate the frustrations of these unemployed nurses and midwives to government but yielded no positive result but same reassurances.
Unfortunately, these nurses have been bonded by the MOH to serve for a period of 3 to 5 years immediately after training. This bond is now an obstacle that denies us credibility to be employed by most private institutions and even travel outside in pursuant of job among others. WHAT IS GRNA, OUR MOTHER ASSOCIATION DOING ABOUT THIS CANKER??
Grippingly, few members (same year mates) have been cleared and posted to start work and have begun receiving their salaries whiles majority are left unattended to; Especially the psychiatric Nurses whose NONE of its members was posted. Why such discrimination? How was the selection done to favour some people including private trained nurses who are not bonded?
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ON THIS NOTE, ALL AGGRIEVED NURSES AND MIDWIVES INCLUDING FRUSTRATED RELATIVES AND EMPATHETIC GHANAIANS ARE COMING DOWN TO ACCRA TO PICKET PEACEFULLY AT THE FLAGSTAFF HOUSE ON MONDAY, 19TH OCTOBER, 2015 UNTIL OUR PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF DAYS IT MAY TAKE.
Let us hasten to remind our leaders what the late Abraham Lincoln said; “You may deceive all the people part of the time, and part of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time”.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
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