MORE FEMALES ADMITTED TO HEALTH INSTITUTIONS IN NR

(Daily Graphic, Jan 14, 2012, page 11)

NINE hundred and sixteen students, mainly females, were admitted to health training institutions in the Northern Region during the 2011/12 academic year to pursue various health related programmes.

Of the number, 153 were admitted to the Nurses and Midwifery Training School in Tamale, whiles 105 students were admitted to the Community Health Nurses Training School in Tamale.

The School of Hygiene, also in Tamale, admitted 100 students and the remaining 558 were admitted to Health Assistants Training Schools (HATS) situated in Damongo, Yendi, Nalerigu and Kpandai.

This came to light during the 3rd Joint Matriculation Ceremony of the seven health training institutions located in the Northern Region.

The function was held on the theme: “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the role of the nurse and environmental health trainee.”

Delivering a statement on behalf of the principals of the seven training institutions, Mr Alfred Assibi, who is the Principal for School of Hygiene, said the training institutions were bedevilled with a number of challenges hindering the training process.

Key among these setbacks, he mentioned, are poor infrastructure, lack of accommodation facilities, limited teaching and learning materials and dwindling financial support from the government.

He also mentioned that the region had only a few clinical sites and this had resulted in a situation where these sites get congested when the students are sent on clinical practice.

Mr Assibi said when there is congestion, the teaching and learning process is hindered because the preceptors are unable to guide all the students and there is lack of space for free movement.

He also noted that apart from congestion, the clinical sites were also poorly equipped.

Mr Thomas Tawiah, who spoke on behalf of the Regional Director of Health, said the health directorate was concerned about the situation where some students refuse postings to rural health facilities.

He said this situation was regrettable, noting that it was in the rural areas that their services were more needed.

Mr Tawiah said there had been suggestions from some people that health trainees who go on clinical practice should be reshuffled regularly so that those in the cities would also go to the rural areas and vice versa.

He also noted that there was the need for health training institutions to introduce quality assurance and customer care into the school curriculum so as to churn out graduates who would approach their job with professionalism and treat clients with respect.