The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association’s (GRNMA) Assistant National Public Relations Officer has addressed the persistent issues with recruitment in the health sector.
Financial clearance is now the foundation of employment for nurses and midwives, Philemon Gyapong emphasized.
On Monday, February 24, he said on Joy News’ PM Express, “If you don’t have financial clearance, it means you haven’t been budgeted for, and the government doesn’t have a provision for your salary.”
He clarified that the hiring procedure has changed a lot since the days when newly hired medical personnel could have to wait up to a year to be placed on the payroll.
“That is what has changed from the previous recruitment process, where you go to work, and it takes a bit of time, like six months, one year, before they are put on a payroll.
“At the moment, you are given financial clearance. It means you have been budgeted for,” he elaborated.
In response to recent inquires, Mr. Gyapong stated that the Association is aware of 15,200 health professionals who have received financial clearance.
“The 15,200 which we are aware of have financial clearance. I don’t know of any outside recruitment. There is no recruitment outside of that that we are aware of,” he said.
“I think we cautioned the government on its directive—we were giving them advice, let me put it that way,” he said.
He voiced worries about what would happen to nurses and midwives who have been waiting for years after completing their training yet could lose their jobs if bureaucratic procedures aren’t finished on time.
“If nurses and midwives, who are also the youth of this country, who have stayed on for four to five years post-training, are laid off based on the fact that maybe their financial clearance process didn’t complete before a certain period, it will be very unfair to do that,” he emphasized.
Mr. Gyapong assured medical professionals that the Ministry of Health has promised to adhere to the correct protocols.
“The ministry has made us aware that they are going to stick to the directives based on the emphasis they laid—those who went through due process and were given financial clearance are not supposed to go home,” he stated.
Source: myjoyonline.com