Health Minister Promises To Deal With Disrespectful Nurses

Nurses and other healthcare professionals have been warned by Ghana’s Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh not to act impolitely or rudely toward patients.

The Health Minister stated that over time, this kind of behavior has deterred many people—particularly the elderly—from seeking medical attention, even in dire circumstances.

He complained that a small number of “bad nuts” damage the profession’s reputation by fostering an atmosphere of distrust and fear, despite praising the commitment and empathy of the majority of healthcare workers.

Hon. Akandoh acknowledged that Ghana has excellent and highly qualified medical professionals, but some of them are bad nuts who treat patients in an unruly way.

“Sometimes you will be surprised to hear that somebody may be sick, especially the aged. If you ask him or her to go to the hospital, he will say the nurse will insult me or shout at me”.

“Irrespective of the level of provocation, we expect you to be very professional, its an appeal to the few bad nuts that are amongst you. Some of these things I will take it seriously. It doesn’t mean that we are going to come after somebody but it’s important for us to protect our patients and also make them feel comfortable.”

The minister emphasized the value of professionalism and urged medical staff to maintain composure and decency even under trying circumstances.

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The minister added that because of the way patients are treated, some medical facilities nationwide have seen a sharp drop in attendance.

“And it is one of the reasons, why sometimes you go to some districts and the attendance or records at the government facility is lower than the private ones. It’s based on how you handle the patients. It’s a fact and we shouldn’t cover it. We must expose it to ensure the right thing is done.”

In order to address the difficulties faced by nurses, the minister pledged to improve working conditions and announced plans to implement harsher disciplinary measures for those found guilty of misconduct.