Five-day national conference for senior nurse managers opens

Accra, Nov. 11, GNA - Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister for Health on Tuesday said regenerative health education should be prominent in school syllabus to educate Ghanaians and promote a healthy lifestyle. He noted that promoting healthy living and dieting had the potential to eliminate most of the communicable and non-communicable diseases which had burdened the country's health sector. Major Quashigah made the call at the opening of a five-day national conference for senior nurse managers on the theme: "Regenerative Health and the Nurse Manager".

The participants would discuss issues affecting nursing administration and ethics and introduced to other new management concepts, health policies and develop action plans for dissemination. Major Quashigah said regenerative health and nutrition programme was initiated to change lifestyles, prevent ill-health and promote a healthy individual, adding, "this would increase work output, economic growth, reduce poverty and help achieve the Millennium Development Goals".

He said, "Nurses needed to be empowered with adequate knowledge and skills on the programme for their personal benefit and impart the knowledge to their clientele".

"We are to serve as change agents in our communities after the conference. We must experience a change in our health which would inspire those we come in contact with to adopt the regenerative health and nutrition lifestyle". Mrs May Osae-Addae, Chief Nursing Officer of Ministry of Health, said a recent survey revealed that there was inadequate information on the programme among senior nurses, therefore the conference would provide a deeper understanding to ensure effective implementation at the regional level. She noted that the conference would also develop strategies to ensure growth and development of nursing in the country. Topics to be discussed would include regenerative health and nutrition, customer care, national health vision, NHIS and the nurse/midwifery manager, code of conduct and effect of staff attitude and interpersonal relations in service delivery. 11 Nov. 08