ROTATION NURSES AND MIDWIVES IN THE UPPER WEST REGION DEMAND FOR PAYMENT OF 8 MONTHS SERVICE ALLOWANCE
*ROTATION NURSES AND MIDWIVES IN THE UPPER WEST REGION DEMAND 8 MONTHS SERVICE ALLOWANCE*
Rotation nurses and midwives association is an association that seeks not only to authenticate the voice of all national service personnel within the nursing and midwifery fraternity but also to ensure the collective welfare of it's members. The named association is the only mouth piece of all national service personnel's within the nursing and midwifery outreach
The rotational phase is yet another important phase of the nursing and midwifery education process for every trainee. This is the period the bridges professional nursing and midwifery practice and student education.
Rotational nurses and midwives have become a very intergral part of the nursing and midwifery fraternity as they provide great labour support to the various hospital workforce, and at this point very critical in the advent of diminishing nursing staff at the various public health facilities
The contribution of rotational nurses and midwives can however not undermined by the Ministry of Health as they anchor and support the very few nurses within the various facilities thus reducing the Gap in the nurse patient ratio as well as the negative impact of low staffing. The current Rotational nurses and midwives’ national service year started in July 2022,hence making it 9months of service yet there have not been any payment of national service allowance by the supervising ministry.
The ministry has been silent on the cry of the 10,975 rotational nurses and midwives across the length and breadth of the country. It has refused to cushion rotational nurses by not paying these allowances in this hard economic times. Rotational Nurses and midwives are being struck by the hard economy characterised by a rapid increase in the cost of living
This has led to several of our members being hugely in-depthed to credit organizations as well as being a burden to their friends and family. The importance of this allowance cannot be undermined as Rotational nurses and midwives fend for themselves with this allowance; caters for rent, utilities, transport and food. It's no news that the mere imagination of the high cost of living in the country has become a terror machine to all service personnel's within the nursing fraternity as they are either left indebted or to suffer in silence with ulcer in this national suffering.
The unanswerable question has always been : what prevents this payment as it has always been part of the ministry budget?
Non payment of this deserved and hard worked for allowance has left us with no motivation to work as one is not expected to work without getting something to eat and somewhere to lay his/her head.
Payment of this allowance is critical in cushioning young nurses and midwives, who are striving together with other healthcare professionals to provide quality healthcare across the country. The continuous delay in payment of this money will further hinder us from coming to work as we may engage in something else to fend for ourselves this leading to less productivity.
With the increasing nurse to patient ratio, it is critical that the government and the ministry as a matter of urgency disburses these funds as soon as possible to sustain the services of rotational nurses and midwives in the various hospitals.
*The future of the nursing and midwifery fraternity depends on this generation and shouldn't be at threat*
*Long live RNMA*
*long live MOH*
*Long live Ghana*
By:
Malik Kandababa
Upper West Regional President
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