Bernard Anankor, the Upper East Regional Chief Nursing Officer, has expressed grave worries about the region's nurses' increasing addiction to gambling, alcohol, and drugs.

Mr. Anankor cautioned that these practices endanger not just the medical professionals but also the patients who depend on their care during the matriculation ceremony for 217 new students at the Midwifery Training College in Bolgatanga for the 2024–2025 academic year.

Mr. Anankor claims that the addiction to betting among nurses in the Upper East Region has gotten so bad that some of them immediately spend their whole salary on gambling after receiving their paychecks.

"Some of our nurses have a gambling addiction. They would receive paychecks, but after a few hours, they would have nothing left. And what happens if they don't? In order to make ends meet, they turn to a variety of unlawful and dishonest methods. They commit all sorts of things against innocent people and won't focus at the workplace," he said.

Additionally, the Chief Nursing Officer voiced serious concerns regarding the rising prevalence of substance addiction among nurses. We now have both male and female professional nurses and midwives who struggle with substance misuse and alcoholism. He voiced concern that some people entering the field are addicted.

He claimed that because of careless motorcycle riding, the area is losing nurses and other medical professionals to traffic accidents. In order to prevent some of the accidents, he advised nurses in the area to exercise caution and follow traffic laws.

Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga