By Nana Ama Gyapong
A Ghanaian nurse who is based in the United Kingdom now to seek greener pastures, whose name is Jeff (not his real name), has disclosed that in Ghana, nurses hold fault for doctors, record departments, pharmacists, etc whenever something goes wrong because the nurses are closer to the patients.
He made this revelation on GTV’s Breakfast show on 23rd August, 2022.
According to Jeff, who was a psychiatric nurse in Ghana, “it was all cool when he started working as a nurse in Ghana, although sometimes when you go to work you don’t have the resources to work with, such as gloves.”
He continued by describing his challenging moment as a nurse in Ghana by saying, “some people fell into a pit and were brought to our department, but we don’t deal with medical cases except the minor ones, but we were able to sustain them and later called the ambulance service, who came and demanded money before transferring these patients. Then we called the hospital to find out if they could help the patients, and they responded that they didn’t have beds available. After a while, we received a call that the patient had given up the ghost.”
He also shared his experience as a nurse in the UK by saying, “over here they hold you in high esteem and if anything you will be consulted. They don’t just take decisions without telling you. You hold the front for them, so whatever they do, they have to talk to you, which also comes with its stress, but you still earn more, unlike in Ghana, where a nurse has a static salary.”
He added that in the UK, one can easily be recommended for promotion and within a few months it is done, which a training session will be organised as well.
Jeff stated that he is financially stable now as compared to when he was in Ghana since he began his nursing career in 2013.
Earlier this year, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), revealed that over 3,000 nurses and midwives had left the country to seek greener pastures abroad since the beginning of the year and attributed it to the unfair salary scales and poor conditions of service.
