A Public Health Professional, Richard Kuunaah, has stressed the need for heads of health training institutions to be awakened and ensure that nurses and other health professionals are professionally, morally and religiously trained.

He appealed to the heads of health training institutions to mould the character of their students to become good Samaritans and citizens, ready to die for Ghana when it comes to health care delivery.

''Life is precious, and it is for this reason you got trained to train students in a way they should conduct themselves in handling patients, so you the heads of health training institutions, must not relent in your task,'' Mr Kuunaah added.

He stated that heads of health training institutions must endeavour to instil discipline and the habit of God-fearing in students so that a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning would prevail in the various colleges.

He said even though the country's health system has undergone significant transformation over the past years, there is a need to adequately train healthcare workers to be in the right places to improve the health system.

He observed, ''We need well-trained nurses and midwives to work with optimum commitment and professionalism to contribute to the global reduction of maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030''.

Mr Kuunaah who is also the Executive Director of GHANECare, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) appealed to health workers, especially nurses and midwives to stay at post and work for the country instead of travelling abroad to work.

''Though the country is facing economic challenges, I think the health professionals should stay and work for our dear Ghana without running away to seek greener pasture in Europe and America, leaving our brothers and sisters behind to suffer common illnesses,'' he stated.

He called on the government to quicken the process of upgrading the Bono Regional Hospital to a teaching hospital.

''This appeal has become necessary because many patients get referred to teaching hospitals in other regions when their medical needs become too complex and in most cases the patients die before or on reaching their destinations,'' Mr Kuunaah emphasized.