Sunyani, April 18, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Sunday advised nurses not to vent their anger or personal problems on patients who are already traumatised by ailments. "It is wrong to carry your anger from your home to patients. That could increase their pain in hospital. The small smile you give to your patients in the wards can speed up their recovery." The Vice President gave the advice during the maiden graduation ceremony of the Tanoso Community Health Nurses Training School near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The school was established in 2003 in compliance with the government policy to give every region a Community Health Nurse Training School to control the attrition of workers. It also the fifth batch of students to graduate. He expressed regret that some nurses are impolite to their patients contrary to what Florence Nightingale (Founder of the nursing) stood for in the practice of the profession.

The Vice President called on the National Health Directorate to step up their supervision and monitoring systems to ensure the provision of quality health care in the country.

He said community health nurses should maintain their leading role of educating the people against preventable diseases as 80 per cent of such afflictions were generated by insanitary conditions. "Our major challenges over the years have been maternal and child mortality and I challenge you as young nurses to work hard to reverse the trend in the coming. years."

Mrs. Josephine Koranteng-Asare, Principal of the school appealed to government to consider providing the academic facility with sufficient residential and classroom accommodation, which are the bane to their progress.

"We still have a lot of our tutors and students living in rented houses outside the school, which is not helping our course to improve on quality teaching and learning in the school." She also appealed to the authorities to support the school with more qualified staff to uplift their performance.

Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, Regional Minister called on the student nurses to accept postings to rural and deprived areas when they complete their course since their services are vital for the control of diseases in the country. The Vice President donated a 33-seater bus to the school.