Ho, Aug 1, GNA - Major Courage Quashigah (RTD), Minister of Health, has urged general nurses, as front liners in clinical care, to support midwives in the battle to reduce maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. He suggested for example that the nurses on their own volition should sensitize young women on the physiological changes in the body and psychological state needed to go through successful childbirth.

Major Quashigah was addressing the 5th National Delegates Conference of the General Nurses Group in Ho on Thursday. The five-day programme is under the theme Reducing Maternal and Infant mortality and morbidity. Major Quashigah urged nurses to target men for thorough education on the issue since many men were reneging on their responsibilities towards their pregnant partners. He said nurses must respond in a professional manner to the needs of their clients at all times, show empathy and not to disdain them. Major Quashigah expressed worry about the increasing incidents of non-communicable diseases among Ghanaians, attributing the trend to unhealthy lifestyles.

Mrs May Osae-Addae, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), listed inadequate sense of accountability and urgency, poor attitude toward clients, poor referral systems, poor work culture as among weaknesses "seen these days in health institutions". She said these had impacted negatively on the quality of health delivery as seen in increase in morbidity and mortality in the health institutions.

Ms Veronica Darko, Registrar of the Nurses and Midwives Council, expressed worry about the public perception of nurses as haughty. She said pressures of work might have made nurses to forget that bathing and feeding of patients were their responsibilities, and warned them that they could be taken to court for dereliction of responsibilities. Dr Andrew Arde-Acquah said even though the low numbers of health professional put pressures on them, quality of service must not be compromised.