Gomoa fetteh: The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched the maiden edition of its Senior Nursing and Midwifery Managers Conference at the Pentecost Convention Center in Gomoa Fetteh, Central Region. The event called on professionals to embrace a transformational agenda rooted in digital advancement, policy advocacy, and nurse-led interventions.
According to Ghana News Agency, the five-day conference, which runs from October 27th to 31st, aims to prepare healthcare leaders to address critical challenges such as staff migration and the rapid digitalisation of the health sector. Prof. Lydia Aziato, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and Chairperson for the opening ceremony, warned that insufficient reforms in pre-service, rotation, and in-service training threaten the quality of future care. She noted that the current era of AI, digitalisation, and electronic health records demands that the nursing fraternity urgently re-strategise to be ready for future crises.
Prof. Aziato urged professionals to champion a new agenda focused on providing care that is simultaneously quality, timely, and satisfactory. Dr. Wilfred Ochan, Country Representative of UNFPA, called for a professional revolution in nursing, stating that modern nursing requires vision, advocacy, and inter-sectoral collaboration, moving beyond technical skill. He advocated for aggressive representation of nurse and midwife leaders in decision-making structures within the health sector to ensure policies, budgets, and priorities reflect the realities of frontline health work.
Mrs. Eva Mensah, Director of Nursing and Midwifery at GHS, highlighted steps already underway under the Green GHS initiative to enhance healthcare in the country. She mentioned a digitally-enabled, data-driven strategy, with initiatives like E-Learning platforms for protocols, developing new safe-care models for School Nursing Services, and formalising Home Care under the GHS structure. Mrs. Mensah also noted the launch of the GHS Midwifery Monitoring and Evaluation System (MRS) for data collection and the Nature App, a cell technology-based tool for tracking high-risk pregnancies and offering teleconsultation, with 12,000 nurses having already completed a mandatory e-learning module.