The National President of the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives (UPNMG), Maxwell Oduro Yeboah, has said strike action is not the most effective means of securing better working conditions for nurses and midwives.
Rather, he said, “Our biggest weapon is excellence on the job.
“So, guard your professionalism like gold, show up at work, be ethical and compassionate; because when our work cannot be faulted, our voice cannot be ignored,’ he told participants at the first-ever Volta Regional Conference of Nurses and Midwives in Ho.
The event, held on the theme, “Forging a healthy employer-employee relationship for optimum productivity and job satisfaction: A Shared Responsibility,” was intended to provide a platform for discussions on the welfare of union members.
Healthy relationship
Mr Yeboah said a healthy relationship between the employer and employee was like marriage because it survived when both sides refused to give up on each other.
In that regard, he said, the government should not give up on nurses and midwives, while nurses and midwives also should hold onto their calling.
He, therefore, urged the government to honour its agreements with the nurses and midwives to build trust.
“An agreement is not a decoration.
When the trust dies between the government and nurses and midwives, wards suffer, patients suffer, and the country suffers,” he pointed out and explained that a strong bond of trust between the government and nurses and midwives would definitely help curb the trend where nurses leave the country to seek greener pastures abroad.
He commended nurses and midwives in the Volta Region for working around the clock to significantly reduce maternal deaths by giving care to mothers after delivery.
Challenges
The Volta Regional President of UPNMG, Famous Agbenyefia, earlier said nurses and midwives still faced challenges of poor road networks, poor telecommunication coverage, and lack of access to clean water in some rural communities.
On job progression, Mr Agbenyefia said, in spite of the difficult conditions under which nurses and midwives in rural communities served, their leave and promotion durations remained the same as those serving in the urban areas.
He, therefore, appealed for special considerations for those in deprived areas, concerning their promotions and study leave opportunities.
The Volta Regional Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Faustina Asante, for her part, said the region had 1,868 registered nurses, 1,112 registered midwives, 1,655 enrolled nurses, and 969 community health nurses.
That workforce notwithstanding, she said, the region continued to face staff shortages, increased workload and burnout, as well as inadequate infrastructure and limited logistics and equipment.
Addressing these challenges, she said, required continued collaboration among management, the association and stakeholders.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, entreated nurses and midwives to renew their commitment to the values of their calling with compassion, professionalism, accountability, and selfless service.
