January 14, 2011
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Ghana is piloting human rights education programmes in some selected nurses and midwives training colleges in the country, aimed at reducing the abuse of patients’ rights in accessing health care.
The programme was recently launched at the Nursing Training College in Bolgatanga. A pilot in two other training colleges in the last six years has shown good results, CHRAJ states. In 2010, 330 students from the pilot nursing institutions were trained by the Commission. The programme will now be expanded to three additional nursing training colleges in the Upper East, Brong Ahafo and Western Regions.
The objectives of the human rights course for health professionals are to raise the consciousness of students and practicing professionals to principles, concepts and values of human rights, to promote a culture of mutual respect among health professionals and patients, and to reduce human rights violations and abuses in the lives of students and practicing professionals.
At the launch in Bolgatanga, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ Richard Quayson warned the students to take the 14-week training programme seriously to avoid being reported by patients to the Commission. He stressed that as nurses, midwives and doctors they ought to respect the rights and dignity of patients when it comes to accessing health care. The Commission, he noted, would not hesitate to deal with any health professional who misconducts himself or herself.
Source: Human Rights Education introduced in Nursing Training Colleges, Ghana News Agency, 9 January 2011