The Upper East Regional Chief Nursing Officer, Bernard Anankor, has raised serious concerns regarding a growing addiction to betting, alcohol, and substance abuse among nurses in the region.
Speaking at the matriculation ceremony for 217 new students at the Midwifery Training College in Bolgatanga for the 2024/2025 academic year, Mr. Anankor warned that these behaviors threaten not only the health workers themselves but also the patients who rely on their care.
According to Mr. Anankor, betting addiction among nurses in the Upper East Region has reached a level where some nurses spend nearly all their salaries on betting as soon as they are paid.
“We have nurses addicted to betting. The salaries that would get, and within a matter of few hours, they have nothing on them. And once they don’t have, what’s next? They resort to all kinds of illegalities, all kinds of unscrupulous means to be able to make ends meet. They will not concentrate at the worksite and they do all kinds of things against the innocent ones,” he stated.
The Chief Nursing Officer also expressed grave concerns about the growing trend of substance abuse among nurses. “Of late, we have professional nurses and midwives, male and females alike, who are into substance abuse and alcoholism. Some are coming into the profession, and they are addicted”, he expressed worry.
He said the region is losing nurses and health workers to road crashes as a result of reckless riding of motorbikes. He urged nurses in the region to be circumspect and obey road regulations to avoid some of the accidents.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga
