The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is expected to invite a midwife for questioning next week over a controversial TikTok livestream that reportedly showed a pregnant patient visibly distressed, prompting public concern about patient privacy and professional conduct.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Tony Goodman, confirmed that the Council is following up on the incident and will engage the midwife to establish the circumstances surrounding the livestream.
In a Facebook statement, he said: "The Nursing and Midwifery Council is following up on the matter concerning this midwife. I am reliably informed that she is expected to be invited by the Council next week for further engagement."
The incident has sparked discussions about healthcare professionals' use of social media, particularly the need to protect patients' dignity, privacy and confidentiality when they are receiving care.
The concerns centre on whether the livestream, which allegedly captured a pregnant patient in a vulnerable medical condition, observed the professional boundaries and confidentiality expected of healthcare workers.
Mr Goodman was reacting to a Facebook post by Dickson Assan, who recounted witnessing the livestream. According to Mr Assan, the host, who appeared to be a nurse, was livestreaming a pregnant patient who was visibly distressed.
He alleged that the manner in which the nurse rubbed the patient's back caused the patient's backside to shake visibly on camera, attracting mockery and inappropriate comments from viewers.
Mr Assan further alleged that when someone drew the nurse's attention to the inappropriateness of the situation, she appeared unbothered, and some viewers insulted the gentleman. He also claimed that the nurse displayed her Mobile Money number on the livestream and was soliciting money from viewers.
"At what point did patients become content for social media engagement and fundraising? Are we gradually losing our sense of professionalism, compassion and respect for human dignity, all in the name of creating social media content?" he wrote. "A pregnant woman in distress is not entertainment. A patient seeking medical attention is not content for TikTok engagement."
He stressed that patients enter healthcare facilities at their most vulnerable moments and trust healthcare professionals with their lives, bodies, privacy and dignity, adding that such trust must never be sacrificed for views, likes, or social media popularity. He called on the Ghana Health Service and relevant nursing regulatory authorities to take the incident seriously and ensure there are consequences for conduct that undermines patients' dignity.
