With a saddened heart, I write this message to the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association of Ghana (GRNMA) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Over the years, University Nursing students have been treated unfairly pertaining to decision making in the Nursing profession. University Nursing students are neglected when it comes to fighting for allowances.
These students go on to the wards for their clinical placements and in some instances, are allowed to provide their own gloves before they are allowed to work.
Again, diploma nurses who are undertaking their rotation (national service) are paid extra for their services to the health system. The current national service salary received by all personnel is 559.04ghc including graduate nurses and private diploma nurses who are also providing the same services to the Ministry of Health.
On the other hand, government diploma nurses receive 780.00gh each month as their national service allowance. Even though these two groups of nurses provide the same services to the Ministry of Health, in some instances, the degree nurses are expected to provide higher services because of higher academic qualification.
It is with great shock that these nurses are paid less as compared to the other nursing group.
This issue has been reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council on countless times and the Ministry of Health claim that graduate nurses are under the Ministry of Education and the higher allowance for the government diploma nurses are from the Ministry of Health.
The nurses and midwives have till date, continued to serve the nation despite this sharp descrepancy in rotational allowances, but enough is enough now!
The National Service Scheme amidst this covid-19 Pandemic asked all service personnel to go on a mandatory leave, whereas the Ministry of Health also issued a letter dated 26th March, 2020 that all nurses and midwives who are undertaking their service in various hospitals are to remain at post due to this pandemic and are exempted from the mandatory leave.
The graduate Nurses and Midwives and private diploma nurses are not treated fairly because, financially they are under the Ministry of Education but when it comes to service to the nation, they are under the Ministry of Health. That is highly discriminatory and contradictory for us to accept.
The entire graduate Nurses and Midwives and private diploma national service personnel would want to go by the directives of the National service Scheme. However, they would be in full action and work if their services are paid for just like the other rotation nurses.
Lastly, graduate rotation nurses are still under Ministry of Education as claimed and therefore will not follow any directives issued by Ministry of Health.
In conclusion, until the allowances of these graduate nurses and midwives are increased, there is no way they will be allowed to work under the Ministry of Health.
Eric Amankona
eabrefakyeremaa@gmail.com
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