Cape Coast, Sept. 10, GNA - Mr Richard Ackom Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), on Wednesday advised nurses to endeavour to protect the rights of patients to avoid problems and misunderstanding in the health sector.

Mr Quayson made the call at the graduation ceremony for trainee nurses from the Nurses and Midwives Training College (NMTC) and the Ankaful Nurses Training College (ANTC) who had undergone a four-month course on "Basic Human Rights for Health Professionals," at Cape Coast. It was among other things, aimed at equipping the students with a better understanding of human rights principles, concepts and its bearing on their profession in order to enhance their service delivery, by reducing human rights abuses in the health sector.

It was organized by the Central Regional office of the Commission and brought together 253 trainee nurses who were schooled on fundamental human rights, the patient's charter and the 1992 constitution among others.

Mr Quayson charged the students to endeavour to demonstrate on the field, the knowledge they had acquired to enhance the protection of human rights in health care delivery.

The course coordinator, Mr Ebenezer Aggrey, Principal Investigator at the Secretariat, urged other regional offices of CHRAJ to implement similar human rights programmes.

He was happy that many of the participants gave a good recommendation of the course and expressed the view that it should be incorporated into the main course curriculum at their training colleges. Mr Frank Nukunu, Students' Representative Council (SRC) President at the NMTC, was happy that the topics treated during the course was to develop student nurses both physically and mentally and to expose them to core issues on human rights especially the right to privacy and confidentiality which were often ignored.

He therefore entreated his colleagues to educate patients and their relatives on their rights and responsibilities, and said the course helped to boost their confidence as nurses, armed with the knowledge of their rights and responsibilities. Mrs Deborah Morny, Principal of the ANTC, who presided, noted that involving nurses in human rights issues was "a step forward" in achieving good relationship between patients and nurses.