Nurses must help restore lost image

Hajia Marima Sumani, member of the Nurses and Midwifery Council, has advised nurses to endeavour to adopt new attitudes towards patients, to help restore the lost image of the nursing profession.

She said the public outcry about the negative attitudes of nurses to them is alarming, and urged nurses to change for the better.

Hajia Sumani gave the advice when she addressed the closing session of a two-day workshop on Ethico-legal issues for nurses and midwives in Winneba.

The participants were drawn from clinics, hospitals, health centres and Nurses Training Colleges in the Central Region.

She said, “attitudinal change is the only panacea to restore the image of the nursing profession".

Hajia Sumani stressed that nurses must understand that Ghanaians are well awake on day-to-day issues, especially on health, and therefore, they cannot infringe on the rights of patients.

The Council Member stated that when nurses fail to treat clients well, they will rush to the media to lambast them, a situation that cast a bad slur on the profession.

She urged nurses to stand firm to expose bad nuts among them, in their efforts at redeeming the lost image of the profession.

Hajia Sumani said the Quality Assurance Performance instituted by the Ministry of Health for nurses is to bring about patients' satisfaction.