Mr Thomas Lambon, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has entreated members of the Association to demonstrate love to infected colleagues and those who survived the COVID-19 infection.

He described the recovery of members as “refreshing news,” and said love, care and compassion were critical components of the nursing profession which must be shown to all patients and recovered victims of the virus devoid of stigma of all forms.

Mr Lambon, who is also an Anesthetist at the Upper East Regional hospital in Bolgatanga, gave the advice at a ceremony organised at the instance of the facility to welcome 11 recovered COVID-19 staff of the Ghana Health Service. The Chairman said the staff, most of whom were nurses, got infected in their line of duty, and urged members of the Association to thank God for the lives of their recovered colleagues, and work with them to promote quality healthcare services in the Region.

Mr Lambon said as nurses and midwives, it was important for them to serve as role models and lead the fight against the stigma associated with the virus, “If the public see us working closely with our colleagues who have recovered from the virus, it will change their mindset about stigmatizing victims of the disease.”

He called on members of the Association in the Region, especially staff of the hospital to “See each other as one, no one should think of stigma because we as health professionals should know better, and rather educate the general public on the effects of stigma on COVID-19 patients as well as other health conditions.”

He urged the health professionals to prepare themselves to handle cases of COVID-19 as they did in other equally dangerous health conditions they were used to, stressing that in their quest to save lives during the pandemic, they needed to practise their Infection Prevention Control techniques.

Some members of the GRNMA and staff of the hospital, who spoke to the GNA, said the recovery of their colleagues had boosted their confidence levels to manage COVID-19 cases in the facility which is the designated treatment centre.

They could not hide their joy and praises to God as they welcomed their colleagues back to work, “We have heard and read about COVID-19 recorded deaths globally, and so we are thankful to God that our colleagues have survived it,” Mr Richard Addah, a nurse at the facility said.