BOARDS OF FIVE HEALTH INSTITUTIONS INAUGURATED (PAGE 15, NOV 2)

THE Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, has inaugurated advisory boards for five health training institutions in the region, admonishing them to help address challenges facing the institutions.
Each of the five training schools has a seven-member board with representatives from the regional co-ordinating council, regional health directorate, traditional councils, communities, Ministry of Education, religious bodies and the training institutions themselves.
The five health training institutions in the region are the Nurses and Midwives Training College in Cape Coast, the Nurses Training College at Ankaful, the Community Health Nurses Training College in Winneba and the Health Assistants (Clinical) Training schools at Twifo Praso and Dunkwa-on-Offin.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe advised the board members to be proactive and dedicated to their work and help the institutions to meet internationally accepted standards.
She reminded them of such challenges as poor staffing, inadequate learning and teaching materials, lack of classrooms and hostels for students and accommodation for staff, tasking them to come up with constructive ideas for improving conditions in the institutions.
The regional minister said the government was quite aware of the challenges enumerated above and was making efforts to address them.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe, however, implored the board members to be charitable and realistic in their demands and requests in the face of the limited resources at the disposal of the Government.
The acting Central Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Samuel T. Kwashie, said all misfits who sneaked into the noble profession would be smoked out.
He said two students who were caught with Indian hemp were handed over to the security agencies for investigations, whilst a third one practically dismissed himself when rolls of Indian hemp were found on him whilst on admission at the psychiatric hospital.
He said a case of stealing was also being investigated, adding that two final year students who gained admission with fake certificates had also been handed over to the police about two weeks ago, when the school authorities were alerted by the West African Examinations Council, after verifying their results.
He said the Central Regional Health Directorate had empowered the principals of the training institutions and continued to offer them strong support to ensure discipline in order to continue to produce disciplined, high performing and committed nurses.
A representative of the boards, Nana K. Owusu-Boampong, Deputy Regional Health Director (Administration) and member of the board for the Health Assistants (Clinical) Training School, on behalf of the members, promised that they would work with commitment, dedication and diligence to enhance smooth running of the institutions.