Mrs Josephine Richter, President of Retired Nurses and Midwives Club (RENAMIC), has called for the re-examination of the recruitment process for the selection of people committed to the nursing profession.
She said the standards and practices in the nursing and midwifery profession had fallen, saying, the scheme of service should be enforced and necessary steps taken to salvage the image of the profession and ensure safety of life.
Mrs Richter made the call at the launch of the 20th anniversary celebration of the club on the theme “Challenges of Retired Nurses and Midwives, The way forward” in Accra on Tuesday.
She said the club since its inception in 1992, sought to create a forum for the retired nurses and midwives to ensure their well being and promote their welfare.
She said the club monitors the pension salary of members and ensures that any discrepancies were corrected, as well as organising talks to create awareness and educate members on national issues.
She however noted that frustration in accessing documents from various Ministries by the retired nurses and midwives, unavailability of pay slips to determine actual pension salary and unpaid arrears of retired nurses were some major challenges of the club.
Mr. Rojo Mettel-Nunoo, Deputy Minister of Health, said nurses had committed themselves to serving the nation and it was important for them to be catered for on their retirement.
He said it was important for them to start practicing regenerative health before retirement in order for them to be strong even after retirement, saying, nurses had to start thinking about themselves and not always others before retiring.
Mr. Mettle-Nunoo appealed to the group to work actively with religious bodies, social groups and government in order to be able to play active roles by advising and counseling them to help in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
He urged them to convert the club into an NGO to be able to receive funding from various sources to run the club perfectly well.
Hajia Mariama Sumani, Chairperson of the Planning Committee, said nurses on retirement faced health, existence and socio- economic challenges, which started before retirement without any planning.
Other activities lined up for the celebration include outreach services to selected facilities, visits to senior members, donation to Accra psychiatric hospital and church service.**
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