The Registrar of the Nurses and Midwives Council, Reverend Veronica Darko, has urged nurses and midwives to be professional in the discharge of their duties to ensure their continuous stay in the profession. This, she said has become necessary due to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), under which patients have pre-financed their health care and, therefore, expect to have value for their money. Rev Darko noted reports from patients about poor treatment from nurses at health facilities should be a wake-up call for them to improve upon their performances. She was speaking at a three-day capacity building workshop in Koforidua on Monday, for nurses and midwives from the Regional Hospital in Koforidua. She said in enhancing the image of nurses and midwives to meet the demands of the profession with the onset of the NHIS, the renewal of the nurses and midwives licenses has been changed from three to two years. In addition, she disclosed that zonal offices of the council had been opened at some regional capitals to make the renewal process easy for nurses who hitherto had to travel from across the country to Accra for the renewal of their licenses. Dr Obeng Apori, the Medical Director of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, said with the introduction of the NHIS, it is imperative for health workers to be professional. He told the nurses that the old practice where patients had "no say in their treatment" is gone, and that nurses and midwives, especially, need to build their capacities periodically to be conversant with emerging trends of nursing and acceptable health delivery practices. Source: GNA