The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana has warned that nurses who conduct themselves unprofessionally on social media risk losing their licenses.

A release shared by the Council and sighted by The Independent Ghana states that its attention has been drawn to several issues involving the misuse of the Nursing and Midwifery uniform in the creation of social media content that purports to educate the public or fellow practitioners without due authorization, the use of abusive, derogatory, and offensive language directed at leadership and other stakeholders, as well as the dissemination of misleading or unverified health information under the guise of professional advice.

In view of these concerns, the Council stated, "all Students and Practitioners are hereby cautioned to desist from engaging in any form of unprofessional conduct, particularly on social media. The Council will not hesitate to invoke its legal and regulatory measures, including suspension or revocation of licenses, against any individual who breaches the Code of Conduct.”

The statement further reminded all students and practitioners that the Nursing and Midwifery professions are grounded in the principles of integrity, respect, professionalism, and ethical responsibility.

Thus, any conduct that undermines these values not only tarnishes the image of the profession but also erodes public trust in the healthcare system.

It urged all stakeholders to uphold the dignity and integrity of the Nursing and Midwifery professions and to report any such misconduct to the Council for appropriate action.

Meanwhile, members of GRNMA on June 2 withdrew from their posts over delays in their 2024 Collective Agreement.

To ensure that the general public continued to access quality healthcare, the Health Ministry instructed all hospital managers, particularly Directors of Nursing Services and their deputies, to be present at work at all times during the period of the industrial action.

The ambulance service was directed to remain on standby in every district to support emergencies promptly.

Additionally, all health facilities were to establish coordinating structures that could effectively manage emergencies and maintain continuous communication with ambulance services to ensure a swift response when needed.

Furthermore, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, along with Chief Executive Officers and Medical Directors of Teaching Hospitals, was required to provide daily reports to the Acting Chief Director on the status of healthcare service delivery within their respective institutions.

To manage the anticipated surge in patient numbers due to the ongoing industrial action, the Ministry of Health pledged to collaborate with quasi-government health facilities. This partnership aimed to ease the pressure on public health institutions and ensure continuous care delivery.

The ministry also advised rotational nurses and those currently undergoing mandatory clinical training to refrain from participating in any form of industrial action. Their cooperation was crucial in maintaining essential services during the period of the strike.

Ongoing monitoring of the situation would be conducted by the ministry to ensure that all necessary logistics and resources were made available to mitigate the impact of the strike.

Despite these interventions, the GRNMA strike had a significant impact. In public health facilities, nurses withdrew their services, leaving many patients stranded.

In response to the strike action, the National Labour Commission (NLC) filed an ex parte application on Thursday, June 5.

A 10-day injunction was placed on the nationwide strike after the Industrial and Labour Division of the High Court in Accra described the protest as illegal.

However, the GRNMA disclosed that it had yet to formally receive a court order restraining the strike.

Public Relations Officer of the GRNMA, Joseph Krampah, insisted that the group would continue its strike until an official injunction notice was served.

According to him, although the association is law-abiding, it could not obey unofficial reports.

“They think that they should serve us a letter; we can’t prevent them, but what constitutes an illegal strike? When in Ghana has the Labour Commission said that this strike is legal? It is only illegal when they don’t inform your office about the intended strike, and we did—you had the letter,” Krampah said.

He added: “If you are declaring it as illegal or whatever and you are bringing injunction, that is your job to do, and we respect the court and the NLC very much. We are law-abiding people. But just things that we have not seen, we cannot act on them. I am saying that we haven’t received any letter. None of the executives have been served any letter about that. So till we know that, aluta continua.”

During the period, the Health Minister, Mintah Akandoh, revealed that the government was incapable of meeting the conditions of service for the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), who were striking.

The sector minister announced that the conditions of service being requested were not captured in the 2025 budget statement; hence, implementing them “would completely throw the economy off gear if implemented in the manner it currently exists.”