Members of the Coalition of Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Associations of Ghana have expressed their displeasure at government’s decision to engage Senior High School graduates at various Community Health-Based Planning Services (CHPS) compounds in the country.

They said it is sad that even though there is a backlog of trained nurses from 2019, 2020 and 2021 who are unemployed, government is rather opting to employ SHS graduates.

“We wish to use this platform to vehemently register our displeasure against government decision through the Youth Employment Agency to employ 5,000 senior high school graduates at the expense of trained and certified nurses and midwives who have since been at home after successfully passing their NMC licensure exams.

“We wish to remind the government of the backlog of 2019, 2020 and 2021 who are all awaiting posting to render their services to Mother Ghana,” he said.

At a press briefing in Tamale, the Northern Regional Secretary of the Coalition, Sulemana Mubarak, said the policy, if allowed to be implemented would endanger the lives of Ghanaians because the period of training them would be woefully inadequate to equip them with the competent skills to manage patients.

“We want to use this platform to call on all Ghanaians to join us compel the Government to withdraw the said policy since it poses a great danger to the life of everyone irrespective of your location in the country,” the Secretary said.

Mr. Mubarak said the action of government is a deliberate attempt to worsen the already lost reputation of the nursing profession.

He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to rise against this policy he described as a threat to patients and Ghanaians as a whole.

“We feel this decision is a deliberate attempt to worsen the already struggling reputation of the Nursing and Midwifery professions as it has the tendency of waning public confidence in these fields,” he added.

The Secretary called on government to as a matter of agency rescind its decision and rather employ those that are already trained.

“We hereby appeal to the government to as a matter of necessity employ the qualified but jobless personnel if it really seeks the welfare of Ghanaians, rather than toil with their lives by exposing them to the ill-baked and inexperienced High School graduates.”

He also hinted that they are mobilising to hit the streets in protest of government’s decision.