Wiaga (U/E), March 28, GNA –The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association’s (GRNMA) President, Mrs Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, has presented a cheque of GH¢20,000.00 to a nurse at the Saint Lucas Health Centre at Wiaga in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The gesture was to assist the nurse, Mr Jibril Gambedu Apunen, who was involved in a Road Traffic Accident (RTA) and sustained fractures of the hip and knee and subsequently developed some other medical conditions.
The Builsa North Municipal GRNMA Executives, led by their Chair, Ms Zenabu Zimi, presented the cheque on behalf of Mrs Ofori-Ampofo in the presence of some GRNMA members in the Health Centre.
She reminded members that six per cent of their monthly total dues deducted from their salaries went to the Association’s Health Fund which was used to cater for the medical expenses of members.
She said members could apply for financial support for ailments beyond the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and entreated those in good standing with health conditions to apply to the fund for support when in need.
Ms Zimi said sick members in good standing were entitled to a minimum of GH¢5,000.00 and a maximum of GH¢50,000.00, depending on the health condition they suffered.
She said apart from the Health Fund, the Association had several benefit packages for members and mentioned the renewal of the Professional Identification Numbers (PINs) and the Axillary Identification Numbers (AINs) for members at the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana for free.
Ms Zimi said the PIN and AIN renewal, which hitherto cost members of the GRNMA GH¢55.00 a year, without which they could not practice legally as enshrined under Section 73 (d) of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act 2013 (Act 857), was absorbed by the Association.
She said the Association’s several hostel facilities spread across the former ten Regions of the country except for the Upper East Region, which was under construction, served as temporal accommodation for members who travelled to other Regions at discounted rates.
She said the regional hostel, which would also serve as Secretariat for the Association, located at Pusu-Namongo in the Talensi District, was still under construction and would soon be completed and commissioned for use.
The Municipal Chairperson encouraged all nurses and midwives across the Municipality and beyond to join the GRNMA, which according to her was the “Mother Association of the noble profession with the bargaining certificate to advocate for members’ welfare.”
Mr Apunen after receiving the cheque thanked the leadership of the GRNMA for the gesture and said it was an indication that he belonged to an Association that was concerned about the welfare of its members and took their health issues seriously.
“I am glad to receive this sum of money to enable me to cater for my medical bills. I pray that the almighty Allah would quicken my recovery process so that I would join my colleagues at work,” he said.
He thanked Dr Bismarck Lambon, the Medical Director of the Saint Lucas Health Centre and the entire staff of the facility for their care and support, and further advised his colleague nurses to join the GRNMA to make it a formidable force to fight for their interests.
GNA