Africa-Press – Uganda. There are plans by the government to deregister any nurse or midwife found guilty of maltreating patients, the regulator of the profession has said.
Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council (UNMC) says the move is aimed at service improvement in health facilities.
“We are going to put up call centres in government health facilities where patients can call to report cases of harassment, paying bribes and absenteeism of nurses,” UNMC spokesperson Jacob Ampeire said in Lira City.
He added: “We are going to partner with security to arrest and prosecute those indiscipline health workers and deregister them,” he told in an interview in Lira City on May 24.”
According to him, accused health workers will be subjected to disciplinary measures, which could lead to deregistration and revoking of their practicing licenses if found guilty of offences including abusing patients.
“Once we deregister a nurse or midwife, they cannot get employment opportunities in any part of the world since their practicing licenses will be cancelled,” Ampeire highlighted.
Last week, the UNMC team was at Lira School of Comprehensive Nursing guiding nurses and midwives on how they can use the online system to register or renew their practicing licenses.
As of April 2024, there were 42,321 registered nurses and midwives in Uganda. Of these, 27,146 had obtained their licenses and 17,849 had renewed their licenses, according to data from UNMC.
Ampeire noted that registration ensures compliance with professional ethics.
Betty Awino Okello, a retired midwife who worked at Lira Regional Referral Hospital (LRRH) for 35 years, said the online registration makes life easy and comfortable for health practitioners.
“In the past, we could spend weeks and months in Kampala before we could get the registration certificates,” she said.
Lillian Ajok, a nurse working at Flama Clinic in Gulu City, said: “I paid my registration fees in March, but I could not get my certificate and this made me lose a number of job opportunities, but I am happy that today, I managed to apply for the certificate online.”
Judith Nanyonjo, a senior principal nursing officer at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, also UNMC Coordinator for Lango Sub-region, explained that they are moving away from analogue to digital systems.
“This online registration of nurses and midwives is fast, safeguards documents from theft and forgeries,” she said.
About UNMC
UNMC regulates the nursing and midwifery professionals in the country.
It was initially set up in 1922 and has passed through a series of legislation, reflecting changes in the ever-evolving professions.
It is at present governed by The Uganda Nurses and Midwives Act (1996).
In 2022, UNMC celebrated 100 years of regulating the nursing and midwifery profession.
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