Cape Coast, April 21, GNA - Mrs Cecilia Asare, Principal of the Cape Coast Nursing and Midwifery Training College has called for a probe into the reasons behind the recent mass failure of student nurses.

She also condemned what she termed the 93unprofessional attitudes" of some nurses in the discharge of their duties and asked heads of nursing institutions to inculcate attitudinal change into the personnel.

Mrs Asare was delivering a solidarity message at the inauguration of the Association of University Nursing Programmes (ASUNP) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), on the theme: 93Promoting excellence in nursing and midwifery through higher education." Madam Mercy Charwey, Vice Chairperson of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRMA) asked nurses to consider the rights of patients in all their endeavours. Mrs Joyce Jetuah, President of the GRMA, noted that augmenting the number of midwives would lead to the decrease of the national mortality rate. Dr Jemima Dennis Antwi, Regional Midwifery Advisor of Anglophone Africa International Confederation of Midwives in a keynote address called on nurses to strive for excellence to meet the global standards.

She said they should also adopt positive image building through the innovation of robust education programmes and identify their strengths and weaknesses to help produce versatile graduates who would effect a positive change in the profession. She said the shortage of health force, inadequate skill mix, non existent regulations, limited health facilities for practical skills, weak linkage between theory and practice were the bane of the practice of excellent nursing in the country. Dr Dennis Antwi called on policy makers to open more training schools and increase intake and also conduct periodic review of the curricula to reflect new concepts to help expand the role of midwifes and nurses. Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, Vice Chancellor of UCC, who chaired the function, lauded the formation of the ASUNP which she said would provide a forum to address concerns and challenges of the university nursing programmes and also improve practice and delivery. She urged stakeholders in nursing and midwifery to have a holistic approach in the pursuance of quality health delivery by involving and partnering with others countries especially those in the Sub-Region to ensure coherent success in the nursing profession in Africa.