Nursing and Midwifery Council partners G-DNA and DataFlow to register diaspora nurses for Ghana’s healthcare system
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ghanaian-Diaspora Nursing Alliance (G-DNA) and the internationally-based Primary Source Verification (PSV) company, DataFlow Group, to register Ghanaian nurses abroad who wish to return to the country to work as nurses or lecturers.
The agreement was formalised this morning at the Nursing and Midwifery Council head office in Accra. The event was attended by members of the council, Gargy Mohanty, Director of Partnerships at DataFlow Group, and Dr Daniel Apau, Director of Education at G-DNA.
Streamlined process
The Registrar of the Council, Mrs Philomena Woolley, highlighted the necessity of the initiative. She explained that the council required a simpler method to register and regulate the activities of diaspora nurses upon their return to Ghana.
“This agreement, which was mooted by the council and G-DNA last year, is only coming into fruition today,” she said.
She continued: “DataFlow is an international organisation that helps seamlessly with registration, identification and verification of persons worldwide, so they will help in registering Ghanaian nurses who were trained abroad and those who were trained in the country but left the shores and are willing to come back to help with the national cause.”
Mrs Woolley added that once registered, these nurses will be recognised and certified by the council to provide services across the country. She commended the contributions of diaspora nurses to healthcare in Ghana, mentioning grants received by some to support hospitals like Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and other public health facilities.
“Our aim is to get many nurses into the country to augment the work of our nurses and give back to their country,” she stated.
Skills and Expertise
Dr Daniel Apau, a leading member of G-DNA and the alliance’s Director of Education, emphasised that the agreement would allow diaspora nurses to share their skills and expertise with their local counterparts, thereby enhancing healthcare delivery in Ghana.
“Already, we at G-DNA have nurses who are helping our women in the safe delivery of their babies by checking their heartbeats in a project we call ‘Mama CVDs,’ which entails an ultrasound device being used to detect the heartbeat of pregnant women to give them proper care,” he stated.
He assured the council of G-DNA’s commitment to collaborating with health agencies to provide the best healthcare to Ghanaians.
The Director of Partnerships at DataFlow, Gargy Mohanty pledged to ensure a rigorous verification process for nurses and midwives before submitting their data to the council for registration.
She assured stakeholders of a swift yet thorough process: “We shall demand proper and accurate documentation from these nurses, do our background checks before informing the council of their credibility or otherwise.”
According to her, the verification process for each Ghanaian nurse abroad will take no more than 25 days.