Madam Tina Mensah(second from left)interacting with Mr Felix Nyante(right),Registrar,N&MC.Looking on are Dr Kwesi Asabre(left) and Dr.Margaret Chebre.Photo.Seth Osabukle)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana (N&MC) has upgraded its certificate course to a diploma, as part of efforts to promote quality healthcare delivery.
The “Post Nursing Assistant Clinical and Nursing Assistant Preventive (NAC/NAP) Diploma in Midwifery” now equips practitioners with the essential knowledge and skills to effectively function while improving their professional recognition in the healthcare delivery chain.
It is being implemented by the N&MC in collaboration with the University of Cape Coast and other health training institutions running midwifery programmes in the country.
Expected to commence by June this year, the NAC/NAP diploma would also serve as the benchmark for the placement of midwives into the various health facilities.
Already, about 985 potential candidates have been enrolled onto the programme designed to better position midwives to assume responsibility and accountability for their practice.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, launching the programme at a stakeholders meeting involving Heads and representatives of various Nursing and Midwifery institutions and associations in Accra on Wednesday described the move by the Council as a step in the right direction to match up Ghana’s health practices with international standards.
According to her, the increase in the number of professional and well skilled midwives would help contribute to the country’s effort at reducing neonatal mortality to “as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under five mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030.”
Ms. Mensah called for a periodic review of the new curriculum to address any gaps that might pop up in the course of implementation, to ensure continued relevance of midwifery services to the country’s health needs.
She assured of the government’s support to the programme and urged midwives to develop a positive attitude toward the profession and the clients they served.
The Registrar of the N&MC, Mr. Felix Nyante, in an opening statement decried issues of discrimination, lack of recognition and under resourcing of midwives in the health system which necessitated the review of the programme..
“Midwives do a lot more than just deliver babies. They take first hand decisions in managing the lives of patients before a doctor comes in but over the years, they have been relegated to the background.
This diploma programme would help raise the professional image of practitioners and equip them with the requisite skills in line with global standards to efficiently discharge their duties,” he explained.
Some representative of health training institutions and associations lauded the move by the Council as they believed it would promote inclusivity and the right attitudes in the practice.
By Abigail Annoh
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