Kumasi, April 16, GNA- The Ministry of Health (MOH) has voted 22 billion cedis for the expansion of facilities at the Nurses Training Colleges (NTCs) in the country.

Mr Moses Dani-Baah, Deputy Minister of Health who announced this, said the expansion programme would cover the construction of hostels, classrooms, libraries, demonstration rooms, tutors and staff quarters and provision of computers.

This was contained in an address read for him at the annual Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions zonal branch of the Ghana Nurses and Midwives Trainees Association's (GNMTA) week celebration in Kumasi on Friday.

The celebration has the theme: "Quality Professionalism, A Pre-requisite For Quality Health Care Delivery".

Besides, Mr Dani-Baah said plans were far advanced to establish a Nurses Training College at Sunyani by October, this year. He said the MOH plans to train 1,200 healthcare assistants to augment the workforce in the various health institutions, adding that the ministry was also streamlining the re-engagement processes to make it easier for health personnel returning from abroad to join the health sector.

Mr Dani-Baah stressed that in view of the nurse-population average ration which stood at one nurse to 1,500 people, had put a heavy burden on the few nurses in the system.

He said the ministry would therefore enforce the bonding of students in all nurses training colleges with immediate effect to enhance healthcare delivery.

He regretted that since 1993, about 2,000 nurses had left the country and that the country loses approximately 250 nurses annually to foreign countries.

"In the light of all the efforts being made by the government, it is worth reminding health workers that they also have a responsibility to soberly reflect on the health needs of Ghana and consider the need to be quite patriotic and die a little for your nation".

Mrs Ruth Gyan, Registrar of the Ghana Nurses and Midwives Council, asked nurses to carefully collect relevant data, assess the data, make nursing diagnosis whenever they visit the hospitals.

Mr Charles Adjei, President of the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions zonal branch of GNMTA, called on the students to rededicate themselves to their studies and asked the government to increase the allowances of student nurses.