The Deputy Director of Operations for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Ampem Oklodu-Abbey, has stated that the Council's responsibility is more focused on the preventative measures of medical negligence than it is on being reactive to it.

Mr. Oklodu-Abbey stated in a Prime Morning interview on Wednesday that it isn't on purpose for nurses, midwives, or other healthcare personnel to hurt patients or be reckless with their job, but that mistakes can occasionally occur in the course of duty and damage people.

He did, however, say that if a patient thinks something is incorrect, he or she may report it to the Council, and once the complaint is received, they analyze it and start an inquiry.

He claims that the Council's disciplinary committee then receives the complaint and consults with both the patient and the institution to determine the appropriate course of action.

According to the severity of the violation, Mr. Abbey also stated some of the penalties meted out to guilty professionals, including reprimand, suspension, temporary removal from their records, outright dismissal, or loss of a nurse or midwife license.

“Sometimes there’s a cost component to it,” he added.

Additionally, he highlighted that nurses and midwives now just need to renew their licenses yearly, as opposed to the former requirement that they provide documentation of ongoing professional growth.

Mr. Abbey went on to say that the goal of this project is to make sure that nurses and midwives receive some kind of professional training prior to having their licenses renewed in order to increase their safety and efficacy.

“Nurses and midwives are always expected to update their knowledge so your professional development as a nurse or midwife is your personal responsibility, the regulator creates the enabling environment for you to be able to meet the minimum standards required for you to function as a safe nurse or midwife”, he stated.

The Deputy Director further recommended that patients who had experienced medical malpractice contact the hospital to conduct an investigation before making a decision to file a lawsuit.

If they're still not satisfied, they might next turn to the regulating authority for clarification and guidance before going to court.

“Because if you’re going to make a complaint to a lawyer, you need to get the facts right to be able to brief them appropriately to advise you on what to do”, he mentioned.

He also mentioned that sometimes it's not only the experts who are at fault; they occasionally have difficulties since the tools they need to assist them are also not available.