By Nasratu Kargbo
Members of Parliament have discussed issues bordering on medical ethics and standards, especially how medical practitioners treat their patients.
Constituency 032 MP Mark Mahmoud Kalokoh on the 31st January 2023 during the debate on the Sierra Leone Nursing and Midwifery Council Act 2022 explained that he had visited hospitals and witnessed how nurses treat their patients with cruelty.
He stressed nurses sit in their offices browsing the internet or reading magazines whilst pregnant women are suffering.
He added that when their attention is drawn for rendering of services, most of them instead reply with unfriendly remarks and comments to their patients. “When you opt to become a nurse or a doctor, you have signed to save lives. You should therefore ensure to do the needful”, he asserted.
Speaking on nurses that are normally on night duty, he said most of them do not sleep there at night, and called for more attention in that area.
He said that the country has a lot of medical training institutions most of them uncertified, and was hopeful that the Act will handle the issue of unaccredited universities, and institutions monitored.
The MP stated that the country needs to upgrade the standards of its medical training institutions to produce qualified health practitioners that will help reduce the mortality rate in the nation.
Whilst addressing the deputy Minister, Kalokoh asked that the ministry ensures that promotion be based on merit and experience, saying those that recently entered the field should go through the ranks in order to be promoted.
He asked that the conditions of service for nurses be improved as a way to encourage them to execute their job diligently, adding that the remuneration should be commensurate to the services they render.
Constituency 086 parliamentarian Neneh Lebbie highlighted Clause 11(2) C and other clauses on ethics and standards which he implored the practitioners to uphold.
Highlighting the purpose of the bill, deputy health minister Princess Dugba explained that the Act seeks to provide for the training, discipline and enrollment of nurses and midwives throughout the country.
She spoke about the composition of the Council with the power to acquire, hold and close property whether moveable or immovable, and having also the power to sue and be sued.
The minister said that the bill has been developed following extensive consultations across the country.
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