<<Print>>

Mr. Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of the Commission for Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has urged nurses not to see the profession as a means of employment but rather as a calling to deliver quality service. According to him, health care delivery was not about facilities but the personnel who delivered the service and how they delivered it and therefore advised health workers in general, to invest quality time into health services. Mr. Quayson gave the advice on Monday during the graduation of the Ninth batch of the Cape Coast Nursing and Midwifery Training College students who had successfully completed the two months CHRAJ Basic Human Right course for Health Professionals. This year�s graduating batch which numbered 111 is the first to record hundred percent pass since the introduction of the course in the 2004/2005 academic year. Mr. Quayson lamented that because of poor services and negative attitude of some nurses, some people prefer to stay home and die instead of going to the hospital to be maltreated. He said after three years of study and investment by their parents and Government, they were obligated to deliver the best of service, adding that, the right to health was inalienable to life. �One mistake can end a life whilst one second of quality service can make a difference in someone�s life,� Mr Quayson said. He urged them not to see the training as euphoria but a commitment they will be faithful to always and therefore charged them to be a new generation of nurses �called to serve and serve well". The objective of the course is to strengthen students respect for all persons they come into contact with especially patients and other health workers and to enable student nurses and midwives to promote and protect the fundamental human rights and freedom of patients. It is also to promote understanding, tolerance and acceptance of all persons and to encourage students to actively participate in a free and democratic society. The students were taken through topics such as �The role of nurses in assisting Domestic Violence Victims, the human rights aspect of the Nurse�s pledge, the patient charter, the right and responsibilities of employees and employer and the whistle blowers Act, 2006�. Dr. Kwaku Kakari, Central Regional Director in charge of Public Health reiterated calls for nursing students to have a sense of duty instead of seeing the profession as guarantee for employment. He noted that the nurse had the obligation to ensure the safety of the people who visit the facilities and that there was the need to eschew all ill-attitudes to achieve this aim. He reminded them that patients, in recent times have begun taking legal action against health personnel and their employers which had resulted in some nurses losing their jobs and therefore urged them to ensure quality services at all times. Mr. Theophilus Tetteh Tuwor, Principal Investigator of the CHRAJ-Course Team for the programme, said the graduating batch was well equipped with human rights knowledge and skills to impact positively on the health profession and advised them to be human right ambassadors wherever they may be employed. Certificates were presented to all students.