The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has pushed back against growing public criticism directed at nurses and midwives following the death of Ghanaian citizen Charles Amissah.
She said healthcare workers should not be unfairly blamed for systemic failures within the country’s health sector.
The Association says the accusations levelled against some nurses cited in the investigative report into Amissah’s death have caused emotional distress among healthcare professionals and risk tarnishing the image of the nursing profession.
Speaking during activities marking this year’s International Nurses Day celebration, President of the GRNMA, Perpetual Ofori Ampofo described the public backlash as painful and called on government to focus on addressing longstanding challenges confronting the healthcare system.
“Let me say this, no health worker prepares to go on a shift to cause harm to a fellow human being. A health worker is merely a product of the system in which he or she operates. As a nation, we must fix our health system, fix our National Ambulance Service and emergency services, fix the staff shortages, and address the increasing workload on our nurses and midwives in our facilities,” she stated.
Last week, the committee tasked to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Charles Amissah completed its work and presented its findings. The report cited seven healthcare workers, including nurses, for negligence and recommended sanctions against them.
The committee’s findings have since generated heated debate across the country, drawing reactions from professional health bodies such as the and the Ghana Medical Association.
Leaders of the associations argue that publicly naming the affected healthcare workers has subjected them to ridicule, emotional trauma, and public condemnation before due processes are completed.
However, sections of the public maintain that the healthcare professionals mentioned in the report acted unprofessionally and must be held accountable for their actions.
The controversy comes at a time Ghana joins the global community in commemorating International Nurses Day. According to available figures, Ghana currently has more than 138,000 healthcare workers, with over 80,000 of them being nurses and midwives.
Mrs. Ofori-Ampofo also renewed calls for improved remuneration and better working conditions for nurses and midwives across the country, stressing that chronic understaffing and inadequate resources continue to place enormous pressure on frontline health workers.
Meanwhile, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea acknowledged the challenges confronting the health sector and assured that efforts are being made to improve conditions within the system.
He, however, urged healthcare workers to remain committed to professionalism and quality patient care in order to prevent avoidable deaths.
“We need to fix what your president said. Those people who come to the hospital doesn’t mean they don’t have dignity or respect. Let’s avoid needless deaths,” Dr. Akoriyea stated.
Other speakers at the event also called for a collective national effort to address the growing challenges facing Ghana’s healthcare delivery system, emphasizing the need for investment in infrastructure, staffing, emergency response services, and patient care.
By Daniel Opoku
