General Sec retary for Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), David Tenkorang Twum, has said his members’ failure to accept postings to rural areas is due to government’s refusal to provide rural incentives.
According to him, the health ministry should be focused on putting measures in place to make working in rural areas less traumatic for nurses and midwives rather than the number of workers who decline rural postings.
He believed that if more health workers decline postings to rural areas, it will force government’s hand to fulfil its promise in 2021.
“If it were up to me, even the 20% won’t go. 80% of those posted to rural areas comply. Comparing our stats to that of other professionals, ours is better.”
“The question that should be asked is what measures have the health minister put in place that will ensure that 100% of all health workers including nurses and midwives will go to rural areas when posted there?
“Two years ago, we negotiated for rural incentives. Due to some challenges faced by our members and the risks involved when posted to these rural areas, we negotiated for government to pay them some sort of incentive. Nothing has been paid till date so how do you expect them to go?” he quizzed.
“I would’ve preferred that 50% of those posted there will find other options. Living in a village is not easy and if you’re not a native of the place it’s even worse. Good accommodation, portable water, and other life necessities are barely accessible,” he said on Accra-based Neat FM.
Mr Twum added that besides the fact that workers posted to rural areas suffer throughout their stay, the non-availability of essential medical equipment makes their work even more difficult.
Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has indicated that over 20 percent of nurses and midwives decline postings to some parts of the country, particularly rural areas.
He described the situation as worrying and said it had the potential to slow down the delivery of universal health coverage in the country.
He appealed to nurses and midwives to accept to serve in all parts of the country.
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