David Tenkorang Twum, General Secretary of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), has described the apology of the Ashanti Regional Director National Service Scheme (NSS), Alex Opoku-Mensah, in relation to a viral audio, as hollow.
The GRNMA has issued a 72-hour ultimatum for the dismissal of the Ashanti Regional NSS boss for verbally assaulting a nurse on duty at the Manhyia District Hospital for allegedly speaking rudely with a house officer who is his daughter.
The GRNMA further indicated that if the NSS fails to dismiss its regional boss, the Association would embark on a strike.
The NSS boss in recorded audio is heard calling the said nurse a disappointed science student, adding that if he had the power, no General Arts student would be given the opportunity to be a nurse unless persons who study Science or Home Economics.
David Tenkorang Twum in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM said though the NSS boss has rendered an unqualified apology, the Association would not accept such an apology because it was a mere play on words.
“Forget about his apology; his apology was hollow and as far as I am concerned, he was playing with words,” he said.
When asked whether it was necessary for the nurses to lay down their tools over an issue that could be settled amicably, Mr. Twum indicated that the nurses at the Manhyia District Hospital where the incident occurred wanted to lay down their tools, but for the timely intervention of the leadership of GRNMA.
He also recounted a similar incident two years ago, where nurses have been abused by families of patients but this time, he noted that the Association is willing to put an end to that phenomenon.
“Two years ago, a community health nurse was trapped to death, and as I speak with you, it has not been resolved. Its starts like this, we do not want to be reactive, but proactive. The man actually threatened the young lady. So it’s not just about the insults and the uncouth behaviour that he exhibited, but we think there is a need to protect nurses and midwives,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Management of the National Service Scheme (NSS) has invited Mr. Opoku-Mensah for preliminary investigations into the matter.