Health Workers must show compassion to society – Amissah-Arthur

Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has charged health professionals to show compassion, by sacrificing for the good of society.

He also urged them to ensure industrial harmony, and avoid strikes which tend to hinder health delivery in the nation.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur made the call when the national executives of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) called on him at his office at the Flagstaff House.

The group was at there to introduce Mrs Cecilia Anim, the first black President of the Royal College of Nursing, UK who is in the country to deliver the maiden Dr Docia Angelina Naki Kisseih Memorial Lecture on Thursday, July 30, 2015 in Accra.

The Association also used the opportunity to invite the Vice President and other government officials to the programme.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur also stated that it was always nice to celebrate Ghanaian successes wherever they were in the world.

He urged current health professionals, especially nurses, to emulate the exemplary sacrifice of their predecessors.

Mrs Anim, who has worked as a nurse in the UK for 35 years, advised the current generation of nurses to have the passion for the profession, and not only the monetary reward.

She said despite the challenges that nurses faced in the country, they could still make a difference in people’s lives.

She explained that the Royal College of Nursing which has about 485,000 members across the UK, was also a trade union supporting its members.

Mr Kweku Krobea Asante, President of the GRNA, stated that the Dr Docia Kisseih Memorial Lecture was instituted to showcase the work of nursing legends of the previous generation.

He said the lecture would enable nurses and mid-wives know what Dr Docia Kisseih stood for, and bring back the memories of the good times, to encourage nurses to establish a stronger front, and believe in themselves.

He said because the Association has subjected itself to public judgment, it had asked its clientele what they were getting from nurses, and whether nurses had been meeting their needs.

Mr Asante said despite the falling standards in the profession, the Association had instituted some measures to get the leverage to give the people of Ghana what they desired by quality of nursing care.

He said the Association was the mouthpiece of all nurses and mid-wives, and that they were seeking to integrate practicing nurses together, and make them more united by championing their welfare and to maintain quality standards.