Nurses' Foreign Verification Fee Maintained At GH¢550 Despite Upward Adjustment Of Other Fees

• The Nursing and Midwifery Council has implemented new fees for its services, except for foreign verification services
• This was after the approval of the foreign verification fee to be hiked to GH¢3,000 was met with intense backlash from Ghanaians
• The NMC says the foreign verification fee will remain at GH¢550 till stakeholders conclude their engagement

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has maintained the foreign verification fee despite implementing upward adjustments on other fees.

In March, the Council suspended the implementation of the newly approved fees from Parliament, which had shot the foreign verification fee from GH¢550 to GH¢3,000.

The astronomical increment had been met with intense backlash from Ghanaians, who accused the Council of extorting nurses and other medical professionals seeking greener pastures abroad.

The indefinite suspension of the new foreign verification fee means it will remain at GH¢550 till further notice.

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Meanwhile, the Council's new fees will take effect on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

The new fees apply to examination fees for various courses and related charges, foreign verification, acquisition of personal identification numbers (PINs) and their renewals, registration and licensing, accreditation for training institutions, etc.

Veteran nurses leaving Ghana in droves

More veteran nurses are leaving the shores of Ghana for better opportunities in Europe and elsewhere, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said.

GHS Director-General Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye disclosed during a press conference on Thursday, August 17, 2023, that 525 nurses left the country in 2022.

He said that although efforts are being made to fill the huge void they have left, it will take about two years.

In June, the BBC reported that the head of one of the world's biggest nursing groups has noted with concern that recruiting nurses by high-income countries from poorer nations like Ghana has gotten out of control.

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Poor conditions of service for nurses in Ghana and the country's dire economic situation have been blamed for the flight of nurses to Europe and the USA.

Nurses Association wants beneficiary countries to pay for training

YEN.com.gh reported that the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) has proposed what it believes would reduce the impact of the huge number of nurses leaving the country on Ghana's healthcare system.

Every year, thousands of qualified nurses leave Ghana for countries like Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia, where they are paid better salaries.

In 2022, 7,000 Ghanaian nurses left for wealthier nations, but the figures are much higher this year.

Between January and June 2023, over 5,200 registered nurses left Ghana to go to wealthier nations.

Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh