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Tag: Nurses

  • Seven out of 12 Ghanaian nurses in Barbados reportedly recover from coronavirus

    Seven out of the 12 nurses who tested positive for COVID-19 since arriving in Barbados on July 30 have recovered.

    The other five are still being treated in a facility at Harrison Point, St Lucy while another who tested positive for Malaria has been discharged.

    This update was provided by Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George, Dailymailgh.com can confirm.

    All 95 nurses, according to Dr. George, are deemed to “have completed three consecutive weeks of quarantine and have been certified COVID-19 free by the Ministry of Health and Wellness”.

    He said that the nurses had moved out of the quarantine facilities and into private residences, and the process of orientation and registration with the Nursing Council of Barbados had begun.

    Background

    A total of 95 nurses from the West African nation are in Barbados on a two-year assignment, in response to outreach by the Barbados Government for specialist nurses to bolster the nursing complement in the public health sector.

    They will be attached to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Geriatric Hospital and the polyclinics.

    During her visit to Ghana Prime Minister Ms. Mia Amor Mottley said the importation of the nurses was one of the most important things for the Barbadian government, stressing that “we have to complete this in order to guarantee quality health care we want for our citizens.”

    She said the shortage of nurses in Barbados could take a number of years to fill, especially due to the number of years it took to train them, adding that “I raised it with the President and he immediately, in a press conference in Barbados, announced that Ghana would assist and provide the nurses.”

    Source: Daily Mail

  • 95 Ghanaian nurses touch down in Barbados

    Ninety-five Ghanaian nurses have arrived in Barbados to begin a two-year contract in the Caribbean nation.

    They arrived in Barbados on Thursday evening via a chartered flight.

    The Ministry of Health in November confirmed that 120 Ghanaian nurses had been selected to serve a two-year contract in Barbados under a Human Resources Agreement between the two countries.

    The total cohort at the time included 12 cardiac care nurses, 21 critical care nurses, eight emergency room nurses, six operating theatre nurses, three ophthalmic nurses and 70 registered general nurses.

    About 600 nurses had applied for a programme to serve at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.

    “This is a momentous occasion in several ways. In spite of the challenges that would have confronted us over the last several months to get to this point, the moment has finally come and I want to say it is a pleasure, the Barbados Minister of Health, Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic said on their arrival.

    “You have arrived in Barbados at a very, very opportune time because like you are aware, we are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

    The Ministry together with officials from Barbados conducted a series of interviews for 150 shortlisted applicants before arriving at the final number for the Barbados nursing job.

    The Barbados nursing job initiative spawned from President Akufo-Addo visit to the Caribbean Island for bilateral talks with the Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley.

    She expressed the need for Ghanaian nurses to solve its shortage of professional nurses in hospitals in the country.

     

    Files from barbadostoday contributed to this report.

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Nurse nabbed for hosting baby girls naming ceremony

    The Police in the Northern Region have arrested a 30-year-old nurse working with the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) for organising an outdooring and a naming ceremony of his one week old daughter at Kukuo, a suburb of Tamale.

    The suspect, Muniru Mohammed was arrested at 11am on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 for failing to comply with restrictions imposed on public gatherings to help curb the spread of Covid-19.

    Muniru has since been cautioned, charged and released on bail and would be put before court on Thursday, May 14, 2020.

    Source: Graphic.com.gh 

  • COVID-19: Your safety is government’s top priority Akufo-Addo to Health Workers

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has assured all health workers in the country that his administration has as its frontline agenda, the safety of all health care practitioners in the country.

    The President gave the assurance to health workers when he met them at the Jubilee House today the 8th of April 2020, as part of his government’s broad consultations will all major players in the health sector of the nation amidst the country’s fight against the novel Coronavirus, Covid-19.

    “Some of the things you have heard me say, the special arrangements that are being made for health workers, all of it is within the objective of ensuring that you feel reasonably protected, reasonably secured to be able to go out and give off your best,” President Akufo-Addo said.

    “It would be excellent if all the demands or wishes that you have could all be met. It won’t be, but we will do our best to meet the essential ones and that is what we are trying to do,” President Akufo-Addo added.

    Participation

    Amongst the various associations under the broad spectrum of health workers of Ghana who participated in the meeting were the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Pharmaceuticals Society of Ghana, Allied Health Professionals, Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anaesthetics and the Ghana Physician Assistants Association. Their leaders where given the opportunity to address the gathering to articulate their interests and concerns to the President.

    Confusion over Frontline Workers

     

    Madam Pepetual Ofori-Ampofo, President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, in her addresed indicated that nurses and midwives are demotivated and feel unappreciated by government following the many explanations given to the President’s statement on allowances for frontline health care workers. It was her contention that every nurse, midwife, physician assistant and nurse anesthetist everywhere is exposed to Covid-19 and they should all enjoy government’s incentive package on allowance. All other representatives and leaders of the other organized group also suggested same.

    President Akufo-Addo in a response to the concerns of the health care workers noted that it is obvious that the issue of who a frontline worker ought to be must be clearly defined in order to streamline and name the actual beneficiaries of government’s tax waivers for health that he announced on the 5th of April 2020. He assured the health workers that the issue will be resolved.

    PPE

    The availability of Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) was the other major concern to all the health workers who were present at the meeting. They urged government to make good its promise to ensure the supply of PPEs to all health workers. On that score, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the shortfall while indicating that the local production of PPEs will bridge the shortages that exist in certain places in the country.

     

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • COVID-19: Korle-Bu Accident and Emergency Centre nurses call off boycott

    NURSES at the Accident and Emergency Centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have resumed work Wednesday following a successful meeting they held on Monday, April 6 with the head of department (HOD) of the centre.

    They are however, warning that they would not hesitate to withdraw their services if at any point in time they felt the safety of staff and patients was being threatened by the actions and inactions of the management team.

    “It is important to note that we are resuming work against our earlier position to have all tests results before resuming work. This decision was taken with our dear clients in mind, considering the important space occupied by the Accident and Emergency Centre. The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in the Ghanaian healthcare industry and more especially this trying time of fighting an invisible deadly viral agent,” a letter signed by the nurses at the centre to the HOD said.

    The letter which did not give details of the meeting held between the nurses and the HOD, was copied to the chief executive officer of the hospital.

    Boycott
    On Monday, staff of the centre said they were not going to work until they were all tested for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

    According to them, they wanted to ensure that they were all safe before resuming work after a patient who was on admission at the facility tested positive for the disease.

    The staff said they feared for their lives given the situation at the place.

    An initial press statement from the staff, especially the nurses said they were not going to work because of the fear of contracting the COVID-19.

    Statement
    “We write in line to the content of a letter circulating about a patient who tested positive to COVID-19 at the Accident and Emergency Center. It is sad to inform our heads of department that it has created fear and panic among we the nurses who are always close to the patients.

    “We write with deep pain and regret as such information has been kept from us and consequently putting us at risk. As we write this letter, a substantial number of nurses at the center are not in their right state of mind. We are emotionally and psychologically stressed and saddened with fear and panic,” it said.

    The nurses said their head of department informed them of a planned mass testing for staff but they were yet to be informed of a date for the exercise.

    “We, therefore, come together as aggrieved nurses of this center that we are not working until everyone in the department is tested and results submitted and sorted out.

    “Also, all the appropriate PPE should be provided to aid us work effectively and efficiently without putting ourselves and patients at risk,” the statement said.

    Provision of those demands, they said would help them deal with all forms of psychological and emotional stress, “so we can work with sound minds and give our patients the best of care”.

    Staff
    During a visit to the Accident Centre, some of the staff told the Daily Graphic that although a disinfection exercise was carried out at the place over the weekend, they too had to be tested “to be sure that we are safe before working.”

    They said as the country had introduced measures to prevent the further spread of the disease, it would be prudent to have them tested so that it does not spread further.

     

    Source: Graphic.com.gh 

  • Apply for jobs – MoH to 2017 batch of graduate nurses and midwives

    The Ministry of Health (MoH) is recruiting 2017 trained Diploma and Degree Nurses and Midwives from accredited public and private health training institutions.

    The process starts on Tuesday, 14 April 2020.

    The deadline for submission of application is Friday 15 May 2020.

    Qualified nurses and midwives are to apply on the MoH online application portal by logging in onto https://hr.moh.gov.gh and follow the instructions to select the preferred agency under the ministry for posting.

    The 2017 batch of unemployed nurses and midwives have been staging a series of demonstrations to mount pressure on the government for employment.

    The leadership of the group were arrested in October 2019 for picketing the MoH.

     

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • More cash for Covid-19 frontline health workers

    Frontline health workers leading the fight against the coronavirus pandemic will receive 50 per cent of their basic salaries as top-up on their emoluments for four months.

    They will also be exempt from paying taxes on their salaries for the next three months.

    These are part of measures put in place by government to make them comfortable in the discharge of their duties as the country fights the outbreak of coronavirus.

    The measures were made known by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday night in a nationwide broadcast.

    President Akufo-Addo assured the workers that high priority has been placed on the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for them.

    So far, 350, 000 masks, 558,650 examination gloves and 1,000 reusable goggles , among other logistics, have been sent to the regional health directorates for onward distribution to health workers in all districts of the country.

    Health workers have complained about the psychological trauma the scourge of the viral disease is having on them especially as some colleagues have fallen victims to it.

    At the Accident and Emergency Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, for instance, nurses had planned to stage a strike from Monday over failure by authorities to make PPEs available to them as they claim they were kept in the dark as regards a colleague who tested positive for coronavirus.

    President Akufo-Addo noted that government has engaged local manufacturing companies to assist in the production of PPEs to complement the foreign-procured ones.

    “I am encouraged by the response of the Ghanaian private sector.”

    He said domestic production of these protective items will commence from Tuesday, April 7.

    President Akufo-Addo said these are aside an insurance package totalling GH¢350,000 for each and every health worker including allied professionals leading the fight against Covid-19.

    Contract tracers will be given a daily allowance of GH¢150.

    “Government has also decided that all health workers will not pay taxes on their emoluments for the next three months. ie April, May and June.

    “Furthermore, all frontline health workers will receive an additional allowance of 50 per cent of their basic salaries per month. ie for March, April, May and June.”

    The March allowance will be paid alongside that of April, the President clarified.

    Aayalolo buses will also be on hand to transport all health workers in locked down areas to and fro work.

    Source: 3news.com|Ghana

  • Coronavirus: We’re employing 2017/18 batch of nursing trainees Abban

    The Human Resource Directorate of the Ministry of Health has begun the enrollment of all 2017/18 batch of nursing trainees for deployment into various health facilities across the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    President Akufo-Addo after one of his televised address to the nation attracted criticism for announcing plans of deploying retired health professionals to fight the deadly virus inspite of the backlog of newly certified trainees who have been left home without jobs for many years.

    But Deputy Health Minister Alexander Kodjo Kom Abban in an interview with Blessed Sogah on ‘State of the Nation’ revealed that the said categories of trained health professionals will be engaged for permanent employment.

    “The human resource directorate is quickly making all the moves for the 2017/18 nurses who already graduated and have gone through their rotation to be quickly enrolled, so, in that aspect their employment is already done,” he said.

    The minister added that due to the exigencies of the time, some staff integration protocols may be waved for the new recruits.

    “So, all the various stages that they have to go through over some lengthy period is going to be shortened so that they can quickly deploy them to assist in this fight,” Mr Abban stated.

     

    Source: ClassFMOnline.com

  • COVID-19: Govt announces special insurance packages for frontline health staff

    The Health Ministry has announced a special life insurance cover for the 10,000  health personnel and allied professionals attending to COVID-19 pandemic response.

    In a letter addressed by the Sector Minister, Kwaku Agyemang to all heads of the agencies within the sector, the government indicated that frontline staff involved in the COVID-19 response have been insured under benefits such as Group life cover with an assured sum of GHS 350, 000 per life.

    Those who will attend to patients with critical illness have been assured a sum of GHS 25, 0000 per life, while those who will treat persons with any form of disability has been pegged at GHS 10,000 per life totalling a premium of GHS 10, 309,919.94.

    “As a health professional and allied professionals at the frontline of the COVID 19 response, I seize the opportunity to thank you and your families sincerely for the sacrifice to this national challenge. The Gormvernnet of Ghana would like to communicate to the Heads of Agencies that the frontline staff involved in the response have been insured under the [above] cover.”

    “Please note that the Allied Professionals include all men and women who have been deployed to respond to COVID-19.  Please bring this to the attention of all staff deployed and please ensure the appropriate documentation of the process which is strategic for the next steps”, the statement added.

     

    Source: citinewsroomÂ